Abstract

3D PRINTING IN PHARMACEUTICALS FOR PERSONALIZED AND PATIENT-CENTRIC DRUG DELIVERY

Blessye Alluri, Abhay Kumar, Divyanjali Aitham, Deepika Akulapalleswar, Vaishnavi Azmera, Surisetty Sridevi*

ABSTRACT

Additive manufacturing, commonly referred to as three-dimensional (3D) printing, has attracted sustained interest in pharmaceutical research as a potential platform for patient-centric and personalized drug delivery. Unlike conventional batch manufacturing, 3D printing enables digitally driven fabri-cation of dosage forms with controlled dose strength, geometry, internal architecture, and drug-release behaviour. While these attributes offer clear conceptual advantages, their translation in-to routine pharmaceutical practice remains limited and warrants critical evaluation. This review provides a comparative and formulation-focused analysis of the major 3D printing technol-ogies investigated for pharmaceutical applications, including fused deposition modelling (FDM), semi-solid extrusion (SSE), stereolithography (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS), and powder-based binder jetting. Particular emphasis is placed on formulation requirements, material constraints, process-inducedstability concerns, and suitability for specific dosage forms. Among the available techniques, powder-based and extrusion-based approaches demonstrate broader applicability for immedi-ate- and modified-release tablets, Oro dispersible systems, implants, and fixed-dose combina-tion products such as polypills. Despite the regulatory approval of the first 3D-printed medi-cine in 2015, clinical and commercial translation has largely remained at the proof-of-concept stage. Key limitations include the narrow range of pharmaceutically acceptable printable ma-terials, drug–excipient compatibility and thermal degradation risks, challenges in achieving scalable and reproducible manufacturing, and the absence of harmonized regulatory and qual-ity-control frameworks. By integrating recent advances with a critical appraisal of these unre-solved barriers, this review clarifies the realistic potential of pharmaceutical 3D printing and outlines key considerations required for its integration into mainstream drug development.

Keywords: Additive manufacturing; Controlled release; Drug delivery; Polypill; 3D printing.