未来是3D印刷药吗？我们参观了伦敦实验室以找出答案。
由伦敦大学学院（UCL）于2014年建立fabrxis a company seeking commercialize 3D printed medicines and devices. On the principle that everyone is different, the vision of 3D printed pills it to be able to provide more personal and specific care to patients in need.
Alvaro Goyanes博士是FabRX的四个创始合作伙伴之一，也是该公司开发总监。Goyanes博士邀请3D印刷行业进入UCL药学院的实验室，以了解有关正在进行的FabRX研究的更多信息。
安慰剂和扑热息痛
在巡回实验室期间，Goyanes博士向我展示了该公司使用其商标Printlets技术开发的平板电脑范围。这些药丸都是使用FFF方法打印的3D，并由企业自己的细丝制成。
The lab is equipped with a MakerBot and a four nozzle 3D printer that can print in multiple materials. Dr. Goyanes explains that within a 3D printed tablet,
The different layers could be different drugs, or one drug that is going to release fast in the stomach, and the same drug that is going to have a sustained release effect. […] So we can control how this is going to dissolve.
在此阶段，FabRX的3D打印片剂要么是安慰剂，要么包含不同浓度的扑热息痛。
各种形状和大小的处理
安慰剂印刷品是由溶解在体内的经过验证的生物相容性赋形剂制成的，有些是使用超市中发现的食物染料颜色的。相比之下，3D打印的扑热息痛片目前仅用于临床前试验。
安慰剂片的种类还包括实验室一直在尝试的不同形状，以了解人们对它们的反应。
Goyanes博士解释了形状背后的想法，
For personalized medicine we always talk about how you can change the size, and in changing the size you adapt the dose of the formulations to the specific needs of each person. You can change the size, but you can also change the shape, so for example we are doing a study where we are trying all these crazy shapes.
Considering this unusual 3D printed structure of Printlets, human tests have so far had promising results. All 30 people asked to try the tablets were positive about the structure and the technology, showing preference only for particular colors or shapes. Full results of this study are due to be published later this year.
使治疗个性化
Moving away from the traditional mass-produced approach to medicines, Dr. Goyanes explains,
Our idea here is to get these printers into hospitals or pharmacies. We will supply the filaments, or the raw materials, and then the medical doctor, or the pharmacist will select the right dose for the patient, maybe combine different drugs, and just click the button, print and then this medication is given to the patient.
但是，他确实补充说，还有一些路要走。当被问及3D印刷平板电脑的主要障碍时，Goyanes博士说“技术已经存在，这只是我们必须通过的法规。”
Proximity to the 3D printed pill
3D打印行业saw more of最新的3D印刷药品at 2017’s 3D Medical Expo in Maastricht. One alternate approach to 3D printed pills is through the use of inkjet 3D printing. An example of this process can be found in research from a group at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) that, in February 2017,published findings on a promising 3D printable bioink.
Spritam，FDA批准的第一个3D打印平板电脑还使用这种技术，但它仍然用于大规模生产医学而不是个性化方法。
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特色图片显示球形平板电脑3D在FabRX的两种材料中打印。除非另有说明，否则本文中的所有照片均具有FabRX的特征，并由Beau Jackson拍摄。
