3D Printing of Metformin HCl PVA Tablets by Fused Deposition Modeling: Drug Loading, Tablet Design, and Dissolution Studies.

The main aim of this work was to 3D print metformin HCl-loaded PVA (ML-PVA) tablets by fused deposition modeling. A modified solvent diffusion approach was used to improve drug loading. PVA filaments were placed in metformin HCl solution in ethanol containing low water content (10%(v/v)) to enhance the drug's solubility. The physicochemical properties of ML-PVA filaments were characterized before and after printing. Lastly, ML-PVA filaments were printed into channeled tablet designs to increase their surface area available for dissolution. The loading of metformin HCl onto PVA filament has significantly increased from 0.08 ± 0.02% in metformin HCl solution in absolute ethanol to 1.40 ± 0.02% in ethanol-water (9:1). The IR spectra of PVA filament soaked in ethanol-water depicted higher peak intensity at 1138 cm