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3D Printed Tacrolimus Rectal Formulations Ameliorate Colitis in an Experimental Animal Model of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

2020; Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute; Volume: 8; Issue: 12 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3390/biomedicines8120563

2227-9059

Iria Seoane‐Viaño, Noemí Gómez‐Lado, Héctor Lázare‐Iglesias, Xurxo García‐Otero, José Ramón Antúnez López, Álvaro Ruibal, Juan Jesús Varela-Correa, Pablo Aguiar, Abdul W. Basit, Francisco J. Otero‐Espinar, Miguel González‐Barcia, Álvaro Goyanes, Asteria Luzardo‐Álvarez, Anxo Fernández‐Ferreiro,

3D Printing in Biomedical Research

The aim of this study was to fabricate novel self-supporting tacrolimus suppositories using semisolid extrusion 3-dimensional printing (3DP) and to investigate their efficacy in an experimental model of inflammatory bowel disease. Blends of Gelucire 44/14 and coconut oil were employed as lipid excipients to obtain suppository formulations with self-emulsifying properties, which were then tested in a TNBS (2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid) induced rat colitis model. Disease activity was monitored using PET/CT medical imaging; maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax), a measure of tissue radiotracer accumulation rate, together with body weight changes and histological assessments, were used as inflammatory indices to monitor treatment efficacy. Following tacrolimus treatment, a significant reduction in SUVmax was observed on days 7 and 10 in the rat colon sections compared to non-treated animals. Histological analysis using Nancy index confirmed disease remission. Moreover, statistical analysis showed a positive correlation (R2 = 71.48%) between SUVmax values and weight changes over time. Overall, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of 3D printed tacrolimus suppositories to ameliorate colitis and highlights the utility of non-invasive PET/CT imaging to evaluate new therapies in the preclinical area.