The temporal delivery of chemical compounds to target organs and tissues is a key-topic for pharmacological and therapeutic applications. Dealing with ad hoc systems that can be properly designed to deliver drugs when are really needed is regarded as a valuable approach to improve the effectiveness of a clinical protocol. For this aim, 3D printing can be a suitable means to fabricate structured reservoirs to allow a prolonged release of the loaded pharmacological agent.

This study reports the fabrication and characterization of multicompartmental capsules made of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) processed by fused deposition modelling (FDM) to be considered for a time dependent release therapeutic approach. Thermal assessment of the printed devices was carried out to evaluate a possible influence of FDM high temperatures on the polymer, while dimensional consistency was evaluated through optical microscopy. Regarding the expected application, different designs were investigated in order to validate the proof-of-concept by in vitro assessing the release of curcumin, as a drug model. Three capsule models were tested, including single, double and triple reservoirs, which provided different dissolution periods, ranging from about 180 to 390 min.

The collected results supported the potential to easily tailor 3D printed devices, specifically modified for drug delivery purposes.