<p>The US researchers have developed an innovative method for using affordable, consumer-grade 3D printers and materials to fabricate custom medical implants that can contain antibacterial and chemotherapeutic compounds for targeted drug delivery.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The team has created filament extruders that can make medical-quality 3D printing filaments that have specialised properties for drug delivery.<br /><br />Creating these filaments is a new concept that can result in smart drug delivering medical implants or catheters.<br /><br />"After identifying the usefulness of the 3D printers, we realised there was an opportunity for rapid prototyping using this fabrication method," said Jeffery Weisman, a doctoral student from Louisiana Tech University's biomedical engineering programme.<br /><br />Through the addition of nanoparticles and/or other additives, this technology becomes much more viable using a common 3D printing material that is already biocompatible, he added.<br /><br />The new method of creating medically compatible 3D-printing filaments will offer hospital pharmacists and physicians a novel way to deliver drugs and treat illness.Most of today's antibiotic implants or "beads" are made out of bone cements which have to be hand-mixed by a surgeon during a surgical procedure and contain toxic carcinogenic substances.<br /><br />Weisman and his team's custom 3D print filaments can be made of bioplastics which can be resorbed by the body to avoid the need for additional surgery.<br /><br />The new technique enables dispersion on a tabletop scale, allowing researchers to easily customise additives to the desired levels.<br /><br />One of the greatest benefits of this technology is that it can be done using any consumer printer and can be used anywhere in the world, Weisman concluded.</p>
<p>The US researchers have developed an innovative method for using affordable, consumer-grade 3D printers and materials to fabricate custom medical implants that can contain antibacterial and chemotherapeutic compounds for targeted drug delivery.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The team has created filament extruders that can make medical-quality 3D printing filaments that have specialised properties for drug delivery.<br /><br />Creating these filaments is a new concept that can result in smart drug delivering medical implants or catheters.<br /><br />"After identifying the usefulness of the 3D printers, we realised there was an opportunity for rapid prototyping using this fabrication method," said Jeffery Weisman, a doctoral student from Louisiana Tech University's biomedical engineering programme.<br /><br />Through the addition of nanoparticles and/or other additives, this technology becomes much more viable using a common 3D printing material that is already biocompatible, he added.<br /><br />The new method of creating medically compatible 3D-printing filaments will offer hospital pharmacists and physicians a novel way to deliver drugs and treat illness.Most of today's antibiotic implants or "beads" are made out of bone cements which have to be hand-mixed by a surgeon during a surgical procedure and contain toxic carcinogenic substances.<br /><br />Weisman and his team's custom 3D print filaments can be made of bioplastics which can be resorbed by the body to avoid the need for additional surgery.<br /><br />The new technique enables dispersion on a tabletop scale, allowing researchers to easily customise additives to the desired levels.<br /><br />One of the greatest benefits of this technology is that it can be done using any consumer printer and can be used anywhere in the world, Weisman concluded.</p>