Abstract
Selective laser sintering (SLS) is a 3D printing technique based on the consolidation of powder particles using laser energy. This process has shown great interest in personalized medicine.As such, this thesis project aims to explore the possibilities and limitations of the SLS technology in the design and development of pharmaceutical solid oral forms using copovidone as raw material.This work focused on four areas:-Demonstrate the feasibility of producing pharmaceutical forms using a CO2 laser SLS printer.-Determine the physicochemical properties of pharmaceutical materials crucial for their printability and the characteristics of solid oral forms.-Define the critical SLS parameters that can influence the printability of powders and the properties of printed solid oral forms.-Screen excipients allowing the optimization of the SLS process.The results obtained during this study show the ability of a CO2 laser SLS printer to manufacture solid oral forms without the use of an absorbance enhancer while guaranteeing the thermal stability of the active ingredients. Powder properties that affect printability include flowability and absorbance, but others, such as compactness, can also affect the properties of the printed forms (their porosity). For a given powder, it is possible to optimize the printing parameters (laser power, scan speed and layer thickness) to maximize the printing yield and personalize the properties of the printed forms (dose and dissolution rate) by applying a design of experiments in a Quality by Design dynamic. The heating temperature is an important parameter for printability and must be optimal in order to prevent curling. This optimal temperature depends on the thermal properties of the polymer and can be reduced following the introduction of active ingredients or excipients with plasticizing properties. In this study, this was demonstrated with dicarboxylic acids, and in particular with succinic acid. The understanding of these technical aspects is necessary to optimize the selective laser sintering process and accelerate its deployment in the pharmaceutical landscape.