Dropwise Additive Manufacturing for Personalized Pharmaceutical Microdoses
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The pharmaceutical industry faces challenges with high production costs, long manufacturing times, and recurring quality issues in batch processing, which are exacerbated by the need for personalized medicine and the limitations of traditional large-scale batch manufacturing techniques, including short shelf life of drug formulations and difficulties in managing real-time process control.
Innovation Solution
A dropwise additive manufacturing system utilizing drop-on-demand printing technology for controllable deposition of active pharmaceutical ingredients onto substrates, enabling individualized dosing and rapid production of microdoses with precise control over dosage and minimal waste, incorporating closed-loop process management and real-time monitoring for error correction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional large-scale batch manufacturing is used, then production capacity is high, but production costs are high, manufacturing times are long, and quality issues recur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the manufacturing process into continuous small-scale units rather than large-scale batch operations. Multiple small reactors or processing zones operate simultaneously or sequentially in a continuous flow, enabling high productivity through parallel processing while maintaining low costs and short cycle times characteristic of small-scale operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements continuous manufacturing processes where materials flow continuously through processing stages without interruption or batch cycling. This eliminates idle times between batches, reduces overall manufacturing time, and maintains high productivity while using small-scale equipment that is more cost-effective and easier to control.
2Device complexity
If traditional batch processing is used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but real-time process control is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates real-time monitoring and feedback control systems that continuously measure process parameters (temperature, pressure, flow rates, composition) and automatically adjust them to maintain optimal conditions. This ensures consistent product quality and enables rapid correction of deviations, significantly improving reliability while using relatively simple continuous processing equipment.
3Productivity
If large-scale batch manufacturing is used, then economies of scale are achieved, but flexibility for personalized medicine is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic, adjustable processing parameters and modular equipment configurations that can be rapidly changed to produce different dosages and formulations. Continuous flow systems allow real-time adjustment of feed rates, residence times, and mixing ratios to customize dosages for individual patients while maintaining high manufacturing efficiency through automated control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes continuous variation of process parameters (flow rates, temperatures, concentrations, residence times) to produce a range of dosages from the same continuous manufacturing line. This enables personalized medicine applications where each patient receives a customized dose without requiring separate batch processes, maintaining productivity while achieving adaptability.
4Loss of substance
If small-scale continuous manufacturing is implemented, then waste is reduced and product quality is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions (reacting, heating, cooling, mixing, separation) into integrated continuous processing modules rather than separate batch operations. This consolidation reduces the total number of equipment pieces and complexity while achieving superior material utilization and reduced waste through continuous operation and better heat/mass transfer efficiency.
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 allows for the rapid production of personalized pharmaceutical microdoses with improved product quality, reduced waste, and flexible dosage forms, overcoming the limitations of traditional batch processing by enabling on-demand manufacturing and precise control over active ingredient deposition.
Implementation Method 1
ejecting the fluid through a nozzle onto a substrate wherein the nozzle creates one or more drops of the fluid
Implementation Method 2
the nozzle creates one or more drops of the fluid
Implementation Method 3
a real-time drop-imaging and measurement device
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for delivering active ingredients, such as pharmaceutically active ingredients, to substrates are described herein. The active ingredients are delivered as fluids to a fluid-dispensing device for the creation of one or more drops for deposition onto substrates such as for the creation of microdoses. The invention further includes microdoses made by such processes.