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Fabrication and Evaluation of Differential Release Bilayer Tablets of Clarithromycin and Levofloxacin by 3D Printing

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Abstract

Purpose

Formulation of customized drug delivery systems is considered as an effective approach to fulfill the individualized needs of the patients.

Methods

In this study, differential release bilayer tablets containing clarithromycin (CAM) as sustained release (SR) and levofloxacin (LVX) as immediate release (IR) were fabricated by bridging the techniques of hot melt extrusion (HME) and fused deposition modeling (FDM). Both processes were optimized to minimize the drug degradation and to achieve the safe deposition of drugs in their respective layers. This design may offer better clinical efficacy, better patient compliance and may overcome side effects caused by the generalized dosing.

Results

In vitro drug release studies confirmed that almost 100% of LVX was released within 1 h, while CAM showed sustained drug release for up to 24 h. The thermal stability of drugs and polymers was evident from the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) result. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and DSC results showed a decrease in the crystalline behavior of drugs after FDM. The Fourier rransform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) data showed no significant interactions between drugs and polymers after incorporation in the final formulation.

Conclusion

This work illustrated the potential applications of HME and FDM in formulation of customized drug delivery systems to fulfil the individualized needs of the patients.

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All the data are available within the manuscript.

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Funding

The authors would like to acknowledge Higher Education Commission of Pakistan for providing funds to Mr. Qazi Amir Ijaz (pin no. 50021487).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Akson College of Pharmacy, Mirpur University of Science & Technology, Mirpur AJ & K, Pakistan

    Qazi Amir Ijaz & Nasrullah Jan

  2. Institute of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Allied Health Sciences, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan

    Sumera Latif & Hafsa Afzal

  3. Department of Pharmacy, Mirpur University of Science & Technology, Mirpur AJ & K, Pakistan

    Sumaira Irum Khan & Zeeshan Javaid

  4. Akhtar Saeed College of Pharmacy, Canal Campus, Lahore, Pakistan

    Memoona Rashid

  5. College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Al Ain Campus, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

    Muhammad Sarfraz

  6. Punjab University College of Pharmacy, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

    Qazi Amir Ijaz, Amjad Hussain, Nadeem Irfan Bukhari & Nasir Abbas

  7. Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakaria University, Multan, Pakistan

    Muhammad Sohail Arshad

Authors
  1. Qazi Amir Ijaz
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Contributions

The following statements should be used: Conceptualization: Qazi Amir Ijaz and Nasir Abbas; methodology: Qazi Amir Ijaz; software; Muhammad Sarfraz; validation: Amjad Hussain, Nadeem Irfan Bukhari, and Muhammad Sohail Arshad; investigation: Qazi Amir Ijaz and Memoona Rashid; resources: Zeeshan Javaid; writing—original draft preparation: Qazi Amir Ijaz and Nasrullah Jan; writing—review and editing: Sumera Latif and Hafsa Afzal; visualization: Sumaira Irum Khan; supervision: Nasir Abbas. All the authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Qazi Amir Ijaz or Nasir Abbas.

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Ijaz, Q.A., Latif, S., Khan, S.I. et al. Fabrication and Evaluation of Differential Release Bilayer Tablets of Clarithromycin and Levofloxacin by 3D Printing. J Pharm Innov 18, 2145–2157 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12247-023-09780-z

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