3D printing in pharmacological and pharmaceutical sciences.

Abstract

In the recent years, we have encountered significant advances in the manufacturing processes of medicinal products and medical devices, particularly after the recent pandemic and the turmoil in the supply chain. Trends in these technological advances in the diagnosis of diseases and therapeutic treatments heavily relied on new technologies that can transform personalised health care into commercialisation. Emerging technologies (ETs), such as 3D printing (3DP), 4D Printing, and bioprinting, are shaping the future of manufacturing and the delivery of traditional and new medicines and can be used to monitor diseases when combined with other ETs. For example, by using biomedical microelectromechanical systems (BioMEMS) as point-of-care diagnostic devices, in combination with 3D printed microneedles (MNs) or microfluidic chips, 3DP can provide new opportunities for the delivery of biologics and monitor patients continuously. Additive manufacturing (AM; often refer to as 3DP) technologies offer a new paradigm for the fabrication of individualised dosage forms, with the potential to allow customisation of dosages that vary in size and shape to control dose and drug release profiles. Furthermore, the low cost and easiness to use 3DP systems can further accelerate the manufacturing of drug delivery systems (DDSs) at the point of dispensing or the point of use can and become a reality. Some of the benefits of 3DP in the areas of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences include the ability to generate solid dosage forms (e.g. tablets) of different shapes (e.g. Haribo for paediatric applications) and sizes, the manufacturing of multi-drug pills, to control the release (e.g., sustained, immediate) of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in question, to make an eco-friendly production, cost-effective manufacturing and safer for manufacturing testing systems compared with alternative methods. Therefore, 3DP offers an innovative manufacturing route to facilitate the widespread development of personalised medicines (PM) and has already been used to manufacture various DDSs.