3D-Printed Acyclovir Nanocrystals: An Advanced Approach to Herpes Simplex Treatment
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
10:29 AM - 10:54 AM EDT
Location: 119 B
Introduction: Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections are among the most prevalent skin conditions, affecting 80–90% of the global population. Oral acyclovir (ACV), the most prescribed HSV treatment, has low bioavailability (15–30%), limiting its effectiveness. Nanocrystals (NCs), created through wet media milling, improve mucosal penetration and absorption by reducing particle size. Combining NCs with 3D printing enables customizable and efficient drug delivery systems, offering a promising solution to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of topical acyclovir formulations.
Learning Objectives:
At the completion of this activity, participants will know
Prepare and characterise ACV-NCs using wet media milling with stabiliser optimisation.
Prepare and characterise ACV-NC-based 3D printed patches
Evaluate the efficacy of ACV-NC-C-patches by comparing ex vivo mucosal deposition
Lucia Lopez-Vidal – PosDoc, Queen's University Belfast; Kornelija Justaike – n/a, n/a; Octavio Fandino – PosDoc, Queen's University Belfast; Martina Sangalli – PhD student, Queen's University Belfast; Masoud Adhami – PhD student, Queen's University Belfast; Jiawen Wang – PosDoc, Queen's University Belfast; Santiago Palma – Professor, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba; Fabiana Volpe-Zanutto – Lecturer, Ulster university; Eneko Larraneta – Professor, Queen's University Belfast; Alejandro Paredes – Senior Lecturer, Queen's University Belfast
