3D printed medicines: A new branch of digital healthcare

Abstract

Three-dimensional printing (3DP) is a highly disruptive technology with the potential to change the way pharmaceuticals are designed, prescribed and produced. Owing to its low cost, diversity, portability and simplicity, fused deposition modeling (FDM) is well suited to a multitude of pharmaceutical applications in digital health. Favourably, through the combination of digital and genomic technologies, FDM enables the remote fabrication of drug delivery systems from 3D models having unique shapes, sizes and dosages, enabling greater control over the release characteristics and hence bioavailability of medications. In turn, this system could accelerate the digital healthcare revolution, enabling medicines to be tailored to the individual needs of each patient on demand. To date, a variety of FDM 3D printed medical products (e.g. implants) have been commercialised for clinical use. However, within pharmaceuticals, certain regulatory hurdles still remain. This article reviews the current state-of-the-art in FDM technology for medical and pharmaceutical research, including its use for personalised treatments and interconnection within digital health networks. The outstanding challenges are also discussed, with a focus on the future developments that are required to facilitate its integration within pharmacies and hospitals.

3D printed oral theophylline doses with innovative ‘radiator-like’ design: Impact of polyethylene oxide (PEO) molecular weight

“…For the pharmaceutical industry to make a full use of 3D printing, it is essential to adapt pharmaceutical grade polymers for FDM 3D printing. Previous studies have used cellulose, methacrylate, acrylic acid or PVP derivatives to produce solid dosage forms [12]. PEO is one of the most commonly used polymers in pharmaceutical industry.…”

3D Printing of ABS Barium Ferrite Composites

“…This is attributed to a significant progress in the accessible printer's process parameters like maximum printing temperature up to 500 • C and more. Current research focuses on the realization of multi-material printing systems and application in life science, biology and medicine [7][8][9] applying FFF and other 3D printing technologies. For the dissemination of 3D printing into new fields, the adaption of the printing process to non-standard materials is mandatory, like in construction [10] or the exploitation of mechanical properties in devices applying metals or ceramics [11][12][13].…”

Embedded 3D Printing of Novel Bespoke Soft Dosage Form Concept for Pediatrics

“…Each experiment was carried out in triplicate. Samples were collected at 0, 5,10,15,20,25,30,35,40,45,50,60,70,80,90,100,110, and 120 min intervals and drug concentration was determined using HPLC as specified in Section 2.8.…”

“…Several reports have showed the potential of 3D printing in controlling dosage [13,14], drug combination [15][16][17], and proposed modification of pediatric-friendly shapes [18][19][20][21]. However, there are limited examples of using 3D printing for fabrication of patient-specific chewable oral dosage forms.…”