Pharmaceutical Applications of 3D Printing
A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmaceutical Technology, Manufacturing and Devices".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 January 2025 | Viewed by 3913
Special Issue Editor
Interests: pharmaceutical compound; solid state; relative stability; phase diagrams; thermodynamics; thermal analyses, 3D printing by FDM
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The use of 3D printing in the biomedical field has been developing since the 1980s. In August 2015, 3D printing was expanded to the pharmaceutical field and the first 3D printed tablet (printlet), Spritam®, was approved by the FDA. Since then, numerous studies have focused on the manufacture of printlets using different printing methods.
In contrast to traditional manufacturing technologies, the interest of 3D printing is growing due to flexible and adjustable manufacturing processes that allow for the accurate adjustment of shape, size, flavor and dosage. Indeed, the dosages required for children and seniors may be very different from those observed in adults due to physiological and pharmacokinetic differences. In addition, 3D printing allows us to control the location of drug release, e.g., to target a specific segment of the gastrointestinal tract to treat gastrointestinal disorders.
The innovative aspect of 3D printing is to combine multiple drugs, dosages and drug-release profiles into a single formulation leading to an improvement in therapeutic adherence. Therefore, the number of daily tablets and also the potential administration errors are reduced. Moreover, the 3D printing allows us to control the drug release for enhancing its pharmacokinetics and efficacy (e.g., once-a-day dosing or delayed release to extend the effect). This possibility would constitute a step forward for elderly people who are often polymedicated.
Regarding the pediatric population, the conventional formulations may not be suitable or are not available (e.g. solid form, low palatability or unsuitable dosages). In this context, 3D printing is a manufacturing technique that could enable us to meet the specific needs of each patient.
Thanks to 3D printing, the use of certain excipients which are the subject of intolerance in certain patients can be avoided. In particular, the pediatric formulations contain many excipients which might cause toxicity in children.
This Special Issue focuses on numerous possible pharmaceutical applications of 3D Printing. An overview of the different 3D printing techniques applied to the pharmaceutical field will be of interest for the scientific community.
Research articles and reviews are welcome, and we look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Philippe Espeau
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- 3D printing
- printlet
- pharmaceutical application
- dosage form
- polymedication
- personalized medicine
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