Core-Shell Capsule via 3D Printing and Liquid Fill
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for producing solid dosage forms, such as 3D printing, face challenges like high manufacturing costs, handling errors, and inability to provide personalized or customized drug release profiles, leading to imbalanced therapeutic efficacy and increased side effects due to one-size-fits-all dosing.
Innovation Solution
A method for producing core-shell capsules using FDM 3D printing, where a composite material forms the shell and a therapeutic agent is introduced as a liquid composition that solidifies within, allowing for precise control of drug release and dosage adjustment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional 3D printing methods are used to produce solid dosage forms, then manufacturing capability is achieved, but manufacturing cost increases and handling errors occur
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing process is divided into two independent stages: (1) printing the hollow capsule shell structure, and (2) filling the shell with liquid composition containing therapeutic agents. This segmentation allows the use of simpler, more cost-effective printing technology for the shell while maintaining the ability to produce personalized dosages without requiring complex integrated manufacturing systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow capsule shell is printed and prepared in advance as a container structure before the therapeutic agent is introduced. This preliminary preparation of the shell structure enables subsequent flexible filling operations, reducing the complexity of real-time manufacturing control while maintaining personalized dosage capability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If conventional solid dosage forms are used, then storage stability is improved, but the ability to provide personalized dosing is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The dosage form is segmented into a stable shell structure and a flexible liquid composition. The shell provides structural integrity and storage stability, while the liquid composition can be customized with different therapeutic agents and dosages, enabling personalized medicine while maintaining storage stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical state of the therapeutic agent is changed from solid to liquid composition, which can be precisely controlled in concentration and formulation. This parameter change allows for accurate dosage adjustment and personalized dosing while the liquid state enables better control over the final drug concentration in the core.
3Ease of manufacture
If one-size-fits-all dosing is used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but therapeutic efficacy becomes imbalanced and side effects increase
Solution Approach 1:
The dosage form transitions from fixed pre-filled capsules to a dynamic system where the liquid composition can be customized for each patient. The shell structure remains simple and standardized, but the fillable liquid composition allows dynamic adjustment of therapeutic agent type and concentration, achieving personalized dosing while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The concentration and composition parameters of the liquid formulation can be precisely adjusted to match individual patient needs. This parameter flexibility enables accurate dosage control for personalized medicine, improving therapeutic efficacy and reducing side effects while the standardized shell printing process maintains manufacturing simplicity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the creation of personalized medicine with accurate dosing and customizable drug release profiles, overcoming the limitations of conventional methods by stabilizing the therapeutic agent and ensuring effective delivery.
Implementation Method 1
naturally cooling the composition inside the shell to solidify the composition
Implementation Method 2
the material from the spool or spools feeds into the heated nozzle, which causes the material to become molten
Implementation Method 3
the material to become molten
Data Source
AI summary
A method for producing a core-shell capsule for delivering a therapeutic agent is provided. The method includes printing a composite material via a nozzle on a substrate while moving the nozzle in a pre-designed pattern to create the shell of a hollow capsule. The shell defines a cavity within the hollow capsule, and the shell has an opening at an apex of an outer surface of the shell. The method includes introducing a composition, in liquid form, containing the therapeutic agent at a temperature of at least 45° C. into the cavity of the hollow capsule via the opening of the shell, and naturally cooling the composition inside the shell to solidify the composition and adhere the composition to an inner surface of the shell thereby forming a core of the core-shell capsule.