Tablet subdivision is widely used for dosage adjustment, particularly in pediatrics and geriatrics, but conventional splitting often leads to poor dose uniformity, increased friability, and stability issues. This study explored the feasibility of two leading 3D printing technologies, fused deposition modeling (FDM) and binder jetting (BJ), for producing detachable tablets specifically designed for accurate subdivision. Tablets were designed with distinct score geometries (continuous and dotted) and fabricated using PVA (FDM) or calcium sulfate (BJ). In addition, a representative drug-loaded FDM sample was also evaluated. BJ tablets were further treated with saline to enhance structural cohesion. The printed dosage forms were systematically characterized for mass variation, mass loss, friability, pore volume, and morphology. Results demonstrated that FDM tablets achieved the highest performance, with mass variation consistently below 2% and negligible mass loss (<0.1%), even after subdivision into eighths, with comparable subdivision accuracy observed for the drug-loaded formulation. BJ tablets showed greater variability but achieved acceptable results when optimized with dotted-score design and saline post-treatment, with friability values (∼0.3%), well below the 1% pharmacopeial limit. Morphological analyses confirmed improved cohesion and reduced porosity after post-treatment. Overall, these findings demonstrate the potential of 3D printing to overcome the limitations of conventional tablet splitting by enabling dosage forms specifically engineered for accurate and reproducible subdivision. This approach may complement both individualized and large-scale pharmaceutical manufacturing scenarios.
Oliveira et al. (Sun,) studied this question.