Main author: Bergþóra Sigríður Snorradóttir
Institution or Company: Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Iceland
Co-Authors, Institution or Company:
Ástrós Óskarsdóttir, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Iceland. Helgi Jónsson, Faculty of Medicine (Rheumatology), University of Iceland.
Introduction: Currently there are no disease modifying osteoarthritis dugs (DMOAD) available for hand osteoarthritis (HOA). HOA is a common disease , associated with pain and disability. Unfortunately, the currently available treatment is only symptomatic. If we were able to influence the therapeutic pathway affecting symptoms and/or disease process it could have widespread implications. Local treatment of hand OA is a particularly attractive option.
Methods: A soft 3D shape must be designed to fit the joints. The 3D design is drawn in Zmorph software. Different polymers (filaments) were tested for the desired stiffness of the patch. A transdermal patch, mixing basic components, polymers and drugs, were formulated to a creme and gel-type drug reservoir layer in a multilayered patch system.
Results: Various settings for the printer were tried, a few showed good results. Printing designs with flexible filaments was complex due to the softness of the polymer in the printer. However, the PLA filament gave good results. 3D printing with a speed of 85% or less was optimal for a good quality print.
Conclusions: The filament that had the best print was the PLA. However, the PLA filament results in a more rigid structure of the printed objects. This type of polymer is to stiff to comfortably fit around the finger joint. More studies have to be made to adjust the printer for softer design to fit the joints in a more comfortable manner.
