3D PRINTING AND PERSONALIZED DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS: REDEFINING PRECISION MEDICINE THROUGHADDITIVEMANUFACTURING

The process of pharmaceutical technology was transformed with three-dimensional (3D) printing, also referred to as additive manufacturing, allowing the process of creating customized dosage forms, implants, and drug delivery systems that control geometry, composition and release kinetics. The domestication of 3D printing in personalized medicine facilitates the personalized medication, mixing of multiple drugs, and the printing at will in clinical or home scale. The chapter presents an explicit description of techniques of 3D printing that are possible, including fused deposition modeling (FDM), stereolithography (SLA), and inkjet printing, which have been used in drug formulation. It discusses the choice of materials, optimization of processes, correlation between in vivo and in vitro and regulatory points of view. Multi-material printing, multi-cell bioprinting, and digital modelling of individual therapy in pharmacokinetics is also an example of some achievements in this chapter. Combined, these technologies represent a paradigm shift with regards to individualized therapeutics and drug release which is controlled with precision.