When you are in the pharmaceutical industry and you need to create custom dosage formulations, you will have to utilize a printing process. There are many different printing options available for this type of work. These include Ink-Jet, Extrusion-based methods, and 3D printers.
Ink-Jet Printing
Ink-Jet printing is a non-contact, material deposition technology. It is used for various types of applications, including medical devices, implants, and pharmaceuticals. One of the main advantages of ink-jet printing is that it is suitable for printing on a wide range of surfaces. This makes it especially ideal for packaging. Moreover, it can print multiple colors, characters, and logos.
Ink-jet printing is ideal for the pharmaceutical industry, where there is a high emphasis on the labeling of products. Not only is it necessary to meet regulations, but it is also important to maintain a certain degree of legibility and contrast.
Pharmaceutical printing involves specific equipment, which must be able to withstand harsh conditions and ensure high cycle rates. The use of digital printing can help in brand protection, which is an added layer of deterrence against counterfeit drugs. One of the main requirements of the industry is that the product must be marked with a Unique Identifier. This will ensure traceability across national borders.
Extrusion-Based Methods
Extrusion-based methods for pharmaceutical printing have been investigated for a number of applications. These include drug products, tissue engineering, and disease modeling. The most advanced technology to date is believed to be three-dimensional printing.
Three-dimensional printing is a rapid prototyping technique that can create highly detailed and high-quality 3D objects. This process is also useful for the fabrication of medicines. Its main advantages are the ability to create tailored dosage forms, flexible multi-drug combinations, and medical devices.
When compared to traditional manufacturing processes, 3D printing can reduce the cost and production time of some drugs. It can also reduce the amount of drug wastage. However, there are some disadvantages. For instance, the process may not produce as accurate a result as possible, and the result could have a low hardness and a weak layer.
Another limitation of the technique is the lack of scalability. The droplet size is limited, and the manipulation of the drug load can be difficult.
Proper Cleaning Of 3d Printers
One of the most important tasks for a pharmaceutical lab is the proper cleaning of the various machines involved in the manufacture of a drug product. Proper maintenance of the equipment will help ensure that the resulting product is of the highest quality. Some companies are currently working to develop GMP compliant 3D printers.
The question is: What are the proper best practices for cleaning 3D printing equipment? The most common approach involves using an IPA (isopropyl alcohol) solution in a vat atop the printer. While this might be convenient, it does not mean that the result is necessarily a clean room. To keep your vat as free from spills as possible, you might want to consider using a tamperproof bottle with a filter on top.
Similarly, it's a good idea to consider the pitfalls of an improperly disposed resin. Having an uncured deposit on hand is not a good idea, and can be a real pain when you're ready to print.