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Improved drug release with optimized shape – Model carrier particles for inhaled medicines developed at Kiel University’s Pharmaceutical Institute
They are barely thicker than a human hair – yet they could significantly improve the effectiveness of inhaled medications: carrier particles in dry powder inhalers transport the active ingredient and ensure it can be efficiently inhaled into the lungs. How well this works depends strongly on their shape.
A team led by Professor Regina Scherließ at Kiel University (CAU) has now, for the first time, produced tiny carrier particles with precisely defined geometries and used them to investigate the role of particle shape in the inhalation process – employing a highly precise 3D printing technique. The study has been published in Communications Materials. The results: particle shape has a marked impact on the amount of active ingredient that can be inhaled. Of the four designs tested, one variant performed significantly better than the others.
Millions of identical mini-particles
An innovative 3D printing method made it possible to produce millions of precisely shaped particles in series. Two-photon polymerization is a process that operates with nanometer resolution. A laser selectively activates tiny points in the material, which immediately harden. Thanks to a new printing technology recently advanced at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 49 structures can now be produced simultaneously – a major step toward speeding up the process.
For each of the four designs tested, the team produced more than two million identical particles. In addition, they created three variants of one particular shape with different surface roughness levels – from fine to coarse. They then combined the particles with a model drug, as in real inhalation formulations.
“For the drug to be effective, it has to detach from the carrier when inhaled and reach the lungs with the airflow,” explains first author Melvin Wostry. “If it sticks, it is simply swallowed and never reaches its target.”
The tests showed that the geometry of the carrier particles had a decisive influence on how much of the active ingredient was released during inhalation. “One shape we call ‘Pharmacone’ was the clear winner. Its star-like geometry features several protruding tips on the surface,” says Regina Scherließ. “The fine particle fraction – meaning the portion of the drug in the respirable range below five micrometers – was four times higher with this geometry than with the next-best design.”
The researchers assume that the distinctive tips of the Pharmacone design increase collisions and rotations between particles, making it easier for the drug to detach. By contrast, surface roughness had no measurable effect on release.
Perspectives for drug development
For now, these tiny carriers are model particles for basic research – they are not suitable for inhalation. Still, the researchers see great potential for future applications. In the long term, such precisely printed structures could serve as biodegradable drug carriers directly integrated into dry powder inhalers.
“Our results show that modern technologies such as high-resolution 3D printing are opening entirely new avenues in pharmaceutical development,” says Regina Scherließ. “We can now deliberately influence the behavior of medications through design – a kind of fine-tuning on the micrometer scale.”
Further information
The study was carried out by Professor Regina Scherließ and her team in collaboration with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), where the high-precision printing method used was developed last year. The work was financially supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Carl Zeiss Foundation, and the Helmholtz program Materials Systems Engineering.
Press contact
Christina Anders
Press and Public Relations
Priority Research Area KiNSIS
canders@uv.uni-kiel.de
+49 431 880-4855
About the priority research area KiNSIS
The laws of quantum physics at the nanoscale are different from those in the macroscopic world. KiNSIS (Kiel Nano, Surface and Interface Science) at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (CAU) aims to understand structures and processes in these dimensions and to translate the findings into applications. Therefore physics, chemistry, engineering and the life sciences are working closely together. The results of this interdisciplinary collaborations are new molecules and materials, sensors and batteries, quantum technologies, catalytic processes, medical therapies and much more. www.kinsis.uni-kiel.de
Professor Regina Scherließ
Pharmaceutical Institute, CAU
rscherliess@pharmazie.uni-kiel.de
+49 431 880-1330
Melvin Wostry (2025) et al: „Aerodynamic Performance of Tailored Microparticles as Carriers in Dry Powder Inhaler Formulations Made by Multi-Focus Multi-Photon 3D Laser Printing“, Nature Communications Materials, DOI: 10.1038/s43246-025-00913-0
https://www.kit.edu/kit/english/pi_2020_007_fastest-high-precision-3d-printer.ph...
https://www.pharmazie.uni-kiel.de/en/department-of-pharmaceutics-and-biopharmace...
• The four tested particle designs in comparison:
Top left: Pharmacone; top right: Soccerball; botto ...
Copyright: Communications Materials, Kiel University
• Pharmacone under the scanning electron microscope:
The image shows Pharmacone carrier particles af ...
Copyright: Communications Materials, Kiel University
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