Fabrication of rectal and vaginal suppositories using 3d printed moulds: the challenge of personalized therapy

Abstract

In this research, we aimed to combine three areas of science; pharmacy and bioengineering, as well as the small part of information technology, in an effort to solve the evergrowing problem of personalized drugs, in this case, suppositories. Various studies have shown that the person’s preferences and adherence to medicine are influenced by the characteristics of the product, in the case of suppositories, mainly by shape. We have obtained all of the existing information regarding vaginal and rectal abnormalities, which we have incorporated into computer software, making it possible to suggest the most adequate and appropriate shape of suppositories for each patient. Considering the high price of personalized drugs and the emergence of new trends in bioengineering, we have come to the idea of including three-dimensional printing, which has recently had a breakthrough in these areas of science and also proved to be a very powerful new tool for future development in pharmaceutics. We have managed to make different moulds for rectal and vaginal suppositories, despite the fact that there are no studies on the topic of three-dimensional printing of moulds for suppositories. We also created a software tool for predicting the optimal shape of the suppositorie.