29 May,2016 08:36 AM IST | | Agencies
Imagine if you could combine the myriad of pills you need to take for your ailment in just one tablet and release the drug in a timely manner or if doctors could easily make tablets on the spot that are tailored to each patient’s needs
Singapore: Imagine if you could combine the myriad of pills you need to take for your ailment in just one tablet and release the drug in a timely manner or if doctors could easily make tablets on the spot that are tailored to each patient's needs. A new method of tablet fabrication designed by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) can make customisable pills that release drugs with any desired release profiles.
Representation pic
"This new tablet fabrication method is technically simple," said assistant professor Siow Ling Soh.
"Physicians can produce customised pills on the spot for patients, or in mass production settings by pharmaceutical companies," he said.
The drug tablet, designed by the Singapore scientists consists of three distinct components, including a polymer containing the drug in a specifically designed shape that will determine the rate of release of the drug. A doctor only needs to draw the desired release profile in a computer software to generate a template for making tablets specific to a patient's treatment, which can then be used to easily produce the desired pills using a 3D printer.
