Regarding the eighth session of the AFI Symposium, dedicated to new manufacturing technologies, we had the opportunity to talk with two professors from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Padua, Prof. Caliceti and Prof. Salmaso.
The development of new technologies stems from the need to improve the efficacy and mechanism of action of some molecules. The main criticality of some drugs lies in the delivery system of the drug itself; new biomedical technologies come to address this problem, allowing molecules to be transported to the target in a highly precise and rapid manner, thus avoiding the dispersion of the active ingredient by keeping it at the correct concentration from the time of administration to the time it reaches its biological target. These new “delivery systems” are being developed through innovative manufacturing techniques recently acquired in the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields, such as nanosystem manufacturing based on microfluidics, electrospining and 3D printing.
Professors Caliceti and Salmaso were able to explain in a simple but effective way the workings behind these three new technologies.
Microfluidic
The microfluidic technique is based on the controlled flow of micro quantities of fluids inside micro channels. The miniaturization of the space makes it possible to control the flow, molecular concentration, separation rate, and ultimately ensure the reproducibility of the manufacturing processes of nanoparticle therapeutic systems. In addition, this manufacturing technique is easily scalable to industrial scale with high throughput.
Electrospinning
Electrospinning is one of the most widely used technologies to produce nanofibrous matrices, starting with the injection of a polymer solution into a high-voltage electric field that, under the right conditions, results in the formation of polymer fibers. In the biomedical field, this technology enables the generation of medical devices and scaffolds for tissue engineering.
3D printing
Finally, 3D printing is a technology that is catching on in so many areas, and even in pharmaceutical applications it has its advantages. During the session in particular, the 3D printing process that relies on the direct extrusion of powders to obtain solid pharmaceutical shapes will be described.
