Stereolithography-assisted fabrication of 3D printed polymeric film for topical berberine delivery: in-vitro, ex-vivo and in-vivo investigations

Urethane dimethacrylate-based photopolymerizable resins for stereolithography 3D printing: A physicochemical characterisation and biocompatibility evaluation

Vat photopolymerisation (VP) three-dimensional printing (3DP) has attracted great attention in many different fields, such as electronics, pharmaceuticals, biomedical devices and tissue engineering. Due to the low availability of biocompatible photocurable resins, its application in the healthcare sector is still limited. In this work, we formulate photocurable resins based on urethane dimethacrylate (UDMA) combined with three different difunctional methacrylic diluents named ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), di(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (DEGDMA) or tri(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (TEGDMA). The resins were tested for viscosity, thermal behaviour and printability. After printing, the 3D printed specimens were measured with a digital calliper in order to investigate their accuracy to the digital model and tested with FT-IR, TGA and DSC. Their mechanical properties, contact angle, water sorption and biocompatibility were also evaluated. The photopolymerizable formulations investigated in this work achieved promising properties so as to be suitable for tissue engineering and other biomedical applications.

Curcumin nanoparticles as a multipurpose additive to achieve high-fidelity SLA-3D printing and controlled delivery

Light-based three-dimensional (3D) printing has been under use extensively to fabricate complex geometrical constructs which find a vast application in the fields of drug delivery and tissue engineering fields due to its ability to recapitulate the intricate biological architecture and thus provides avenues to achieve previously unachievable biomedical devices. The inherent problem associated with light-based 3D printing (from a biomedical perspective) is that of light scattering causing inaccurate and defective prints which results in erroneous drug loading in 3D printed dosage forms and can also render the environment of the polymers toxic for the biological cells and tissues. In this regard, an innovative additive comprising of a nature-derived drug-cum-photoabsorber (curcumin) entrapped in naturally derived protein (bovine serum albumin) is envisaged to act as a photoabsorbing system that can improve the printing quality of 3D printed drug delivery formulations (macroporous pills) as well as provide stimuli-responsive release of the same upon oral ingestion. The delivery system was designed to endure the chemically and mechanically hostile gastric environment and deliver the drug in the small intestine to improve absorption. A 3 × 3 grid macroporous pill was designed (specifically to withstand the mechanically hostile gastric environment) and 3D printed using Stereolithography comprising of a resin system including acrylic Acid, PEGDA and PEG 400 along with curcumin loaded BSA nanoparticles (Cu-BSA NPs) as a multifunctional additive and TPO as the photoinitiator. The 3D printed macroporous pills were found to show excellent fidelity to CAD design as evident from the resolution studies. The mechanical performance of the macroporous pills was found to be extremely superior to monolithic pills. The pills found to release curcumin in pH responsive manner with slower release at acidic pH but faster release at intestinal pH due to its similar swelling behavior. Finally, the pills were found to be cytocompatible to mammalian kidney and colon cell lines.

Three-Dimensional (3D) Printing in Cancer Therapy and Diagnostics: Current Status and Future Perspectives

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a technique where the products are printed layer-by-layer via a series of cross-sectional slices with the exact deposition of different cell types and biomaterials based on computer-aided design software. Three-dimensional printing can be divided into several approaches, such as extrusion-based printing, laser-induced forward transfer-based printing systems, and so on. Bio-ink is a crucial tool necessary for the fabrication of the 3D construct of living tissue in order to mimic the native tissue/cells using 3D printing technology. The formation of 3D software helps in the development of novel drug delivery systems with drug screening potential, as well as 3D constructs of tumor models. Additionally, several complex structures of inner tissues like stroma and channels of different sizes are printed through 3D printing techniques. Three-dimensional printing technology could also be used to develop therapy training simulators for educational purposes so that learners can practice complex surgical procedures. The fabrication of implantable medical devices using 3D printing technology with less risk of infections is receiving increased attention recently. A Cancer-on-a-chip is a microfluidic device that recreates tumor physiology and allows for a continuous supply of nutrients or therapeutic compounds. In this review, based on the recent literature, we have discussed various printing methods for 3D printing and types of bio-inks, and provided information on how 3D printing plays a crucial role in cancer management.