A review on 3D printing in Pharmaceuticals

~ 169 ~
The Pharma Innovation Journal 2019; 8(2): 169-173
ISSN (E): 2277- 7695
ISSN (P): 2349-8242
NAAS Rating: 5.03
TPI 2019; 8(2): 169-173
© 2019 TPI
www.thepharmajournal.com
Received: 14-12-2018
Accepted: 18-01-2019
Dr. Shaikh Siraj N
Department of Pharmaceutics,
Ali-Allana College of Pharmacy
Akkalkuwa, Nandurbar,
Maharashtra, India
Jain Vrushabha G
Maharashtra, India
Dr. GJ Khan
Maharashtra, India
Makrani Shaharukh Ismail
Maharashtra, India
Correspondence
Dr. Shaikh Siraj N
Maharashtra, India
A review on 3d printing in pharmaceutical
Dr. Shaikh Siraj N, Jain Vrushabha G, Dr. GJ Khan and Makrani
Shaharukh Ismail
Abstract
3Dimensional Printing is a fast prototyping or improver manufacturing is a fresh advanced skill that
making 3D shapes in a layer by layer method straight by computer aided drug design technology. 3D
printing has a high-class chance for the grounding of personalized medication to patient wants. In 3D
printing sequential layers of material are shaped under computer control to create an object. It is
consuming high degree of elasticity over controls over the release of drug which is formulated as in
different layers of tablets. This review highlight with advantages, disadvantages, types, principle, steps
involved, challenges and applications of 3D printing in Pharmaceutical.
Keywords: 3d printing, additive manufacturing, personalized medicine
Introduction
Today, three-dimensional printing is one of the firmest emerging divisions of technology, art
and science, and quiet develops the applications. The term three-dimensional printing was
clear by International Standard Organization as: fabrication of objects through the deposition
material using a print head, nozzle, or another printer technology [1]
.
The overview and application of 3D printing (DP) have promoted huge innovations in many
various fields, including aerospace industry, architecture tissue engineer, biomedical research
and pharmacy. 3DP is gaining growing attention in pharmaceutical formulation development
as an effective scheme to overcome some challenges of conventional pharmaceutical unit
operations. For example, the conventional manufacturing unit operation involving milling,
mixing, granulation and compression can result in disparate qualities of the final products with
respect to drug loading, drug release, drug stability and pharmaceutical dosage form stability [2]
.
3D printing technology has allowed unprecedented flexibility in the design and manufacturing
of complex objects, which can be used in personalized and programmable medicine [2]
. 3D
printing can play an important role in multiple active ingredient dosage forms, where the
formulation can beas a single blend or multi-layer printed tablets with sustained release
properties. This decreases the frequency and number of dosage form units consumed by the
patient on a regular routine. 3D printing technology has high potential in individualized dosage
form concept called the polyp ill concept. This carries about the possibility of all the drugs
required for the therapy into a single dosage form unit.
Three dimensional printing technologies is a new rapid prototyping method in which solid
objects are built by depositing numerous layers in structure. The rapid prototyping includes the
building of physical models using computer-aided design in three dimensions. It is similarly
known as additive manufacturing and solid free form fabrication. 3D printing technology has
permitted unique flexibility in the design and manufacturing of complex objects, which can be
utilized in personalized and programmable medicine [3]
.
The manufacture of solid objects by adding them layer by layer is called additive
manufacturing. This term was promoted in the early 2000s and changed to a more popular one
called “3D printing” [4]
. All 3DP technologies are based on the principle of structure 20 objects
by adding materials layer by layer [6]
.
In literature, the terms additive manufacturing, rapid prototyping, layered manufacturing, solid
freeform fabrication, 3D fibbing, and 3D printing are used more or less synonymously. While
“additive manufacturing” is favoured by most engineers, the term “3D printing” is far more
common principally in the popular media. In this work, the terms “additive manufacturing”
and 3D printing are both used to describe the same general manufacturing principle [7]
.
In 3D printing succeeding layers of material are formed under computer control to create an
object1. 3D printing was used as a novel medicine formulation technique for production of

~ 170 ~
The Pharma Innovation Journal
viable tablets capable of satisfying regulatory tests and
matching the release of standard commercial tablets 2 [8]
.
3D printing is exclusive technology that was principal
described by Charles Hull in 1986 [12]
. Three-dimensional
printing is powerful major innovations in a broad range of
areas, including energy, biotechnology, medical devices, and
many more [14]
. Three-dimensional printing technology relies
on computer aided designs to achieve unmatched flexibility,
time-saving, and exceptional manufacturing capability of
pharmaceutical drug products [15]
.
Advantages of 3d printing
Advantages of 3D Printed Drug Delivery are as follows:
1. Production of small batch is viable and the process can be
completed in a single run.
2. 3D printers inhabit minimal space and are affordable.
3. Avoids batch-to-batch variations seen in bulk
manufacturing of conventional dosage forms
4. As instant and controlled release layers can be combined
due to the flexible design and manufacture of this dosage
form, it helps in selecting the best therapeutic regime for
an individual
5. In case of multi drug therapy with multiple dosing
regimen, treatment can be customized to improve patient
devotion.
6. High drug filling ability when compared to predictable
dosage forms
7. Accurate and precise dosing of potent drugs which are
administered at small doses
8. Decreases cost of production due to lesser material
wastage.
9. Appropriate drug delivery for difficult to formulate active
ingredients like poor water solubility, drugs with.
10. Fine therapeutic window.
11. Medicine can be tailored to a patient in particular based
on genetic variations, ethnic differences, age, gender and
environment.3
12. One of the most important profits of 3D printing is
facilitating dose personalisation.
13. 3D printing could be suitable for use in hospitals, mobile
military facilities and for low stability drugs.
14. 3DP can prove pretty useful in preparing dosage forms
for clinical trials.
15. Dissolution of poorly soluble APIs is upgraded.
16. Disintegration and dissolution rates can be enlarged
either by printing hollowed or highly porous structures,
thus increasing the contact surface area, either using 3DP
extrusion methods resulting in amorphous dispersions or
even filling inner cavities with loose powders.
17. Tremendously low quantities of API can be printed, even
as low as 3ng of API.
18. When considering smaller batches, 3D printing is less
luxurious than traditional industrial manufacturing.
19. Slight stability APIs could be printed for immediate
administration, while different research proposes
associating simple API synthesis with 3DP [5]
.
Drawback of 3d printing
Process Challenges
1. Raw material selection: printability, physicochemical
characteristics, thermal conductivity, Print fluid
characteristics and viscoelastic stuff has to be sensibly
inspected along with safety of the raw materials for
human use.
2. Powder based 3D printing: narrowed or special area is
required to perform the printing as powder spillage is
critical and can pose as an occupational hazard.
3. Mechanical resistance: friability is higher in 3D dosage
forms particularly in powder based technique. Production
technology is important for good dosage form strength.
4. Certain manufacturing process may not be appropriate for
thermo labile drugs when printing at high temperatures.
5. The material choices, colours, and surface finishes
currently available for 3D printing are relatively limited
when compared to conventional tablet compression
processes.
6. Nozzle mechanism: throughout 3D printing, nozzle
mechanism is used to form the layers of the dosage form.
As the printer head stops and pick up during the
sequenced layer formation, consistent flow of the printing
material is necessary [3]
.
7. Appropriate materials are still limited for drug 3D
printing.
8. Post processing including drying using hot air,
microwaves or infrared sources may be needed in some
instances, when residual solvents need to be removed
from the final product.
9. When considering polypills, boundaries occur especially
when taking into account the number of APIs used and
the size of the final product.
Principle of 3d Printing
The Principle behindhand a 3D printer can be expected to be
parallel to a regular printer. 3D printer consists of an extruder
that moves horizontally on an axis which is held on top of two
axes that allow it to move back and forward in x-y plane to
create the base of the object. These two axes are involved to
the sides of the printer. The only alteration is the 3D printer
has a base that moves vertically along the z axis to create the
layers over the object. Whereas printing the first layer the
extruder remains at the top and moves only in 2D. The base
that holds the substrate will decrease in height so that next
layer could be built upon it. The process is repeated following
the computer-aided drafting instructions until the object is
built layer by layer.
This procedure is denoted to as additive manufacturing, rapid
prototyping (RP), or solid freeform technology. 3D printers
are used to print various porous scaffolds with controlled
chemistry, interconnected porosity and special shapes. These
prints are biodegradable and proved to be ideal for drug
delivery abilities. Some of the highly complex structures
incorporating living cells can be created by this technique and
has gained popularity and applicability in cancer
management.
Dissimilar types of drug delivery systems such as oral
controlled release systems, micro pills, microchip, drug
implants, fast dissolving tablets and multiphase release dosage
forms have been developed using 3DP technology [10]
.
Steps involved in a 3d printed dosage form
Three-dimensional printing involves three major steps.
a. Modelling
b. Printing
c. Finishing
(a) Modelling: Virtual blue print from computer aided design.
(b) Printing: 3D printer read the design and lay down
successive layer of materials.

~ 171 ~
(c) Finishing: After printing the support are removed or
dissolved to get the final product [9]
.
1. Pharmaceutical product is designed in three dimension
with computer aided design.
2. Design is converted to a machine readable format which
describes the external surface of the 3D dosage form.
3. The computer program then slices this surface into
several distinct printable layers and transfers that layer
by-layer to the machine [3]
.
Classification of 3d printing
1. Inkjet printing method
2. Fused deposition method
3. Direct inkjet writing method
4. Zip dose method
5. Thermal inkjet printing method
6. Binder deposition method
7. Material jetting method
8. Extrusion method
9. Powder bed fusion method
10. Photo polymerisation method
11. Pen based 3DP method
12. Direct energy deposition method
13. Sheet lamination method [10, 11, 12]
.
Type of 3d printing technology
Examples of current 3DP technologies in pharmaceutical drug
delivery.
Inkjet Printing
In the method, different mixtures of active ingredients and
excipients (ink) are exactly sprayed in small droplets in
changing sizes layer by layer into a non-powder substrate.
The technique includes powder-based 3D printing that uses a
powder foundation for the sprayed ink where it solidifies into
a solid dosage form.
Zip Dose
Provides modified dose in adding to the delivery of a high
drug-load with high disintegration and dissolution levels by
manufacturing highly porous material.
Fused deposition modelling
The procedure can be practical to multiple dosage forms that
apply polymers as part of the framework such as implants,
zero-order release tablets, multi-layered tablets and fast-
dissolving devices. In the procedure the polymer of interest is
melted and extruded concluded a movable heated nozzle. The
layer by layer ejection of the polymer is frequent along x-y-z
stage, followed by solidification to create a shape previously
defined by the computer aided design models.
Thermal inkjet (TIJ) printing
TIJ system contains of a micro-resistor that heats a thin film
of ink fluid (located in the ink reservoir) founding a vapour
bubble that nucleates and expands to push the ink drop out of
a nozzle. TIJ affords the opportunity of dispensing
extemporaneous preparation/solution of drug onto 3D
scaffolds [13, 14]
.
Direct-write
Usages a computer-controlled translational stage that moves a
pattern-generating device in order to achieve, layer-by-layer,
3D microstructure [15]
.
General 3d printing methods, technologies and materials
Table 1: General 3D printing methods, technologies and materials [5]
.
3DP Method Traditional materials Technologies
Binder Jetting
Polymer powders, sand, ceramic and
metal powders
Binder Jetting
Photo
polymerisation
Liquid photopolymers
DLP: Direct/Digital Light Processing. CLIP: Continuous Liquid Interface
Production. SLA: Stereo lithography
Powder Bed
Fusion
Metal powders
EBM: Electron Beam Melting SLM: Selective Laser Melting DMLS: Direct
Metal Laser Sintering
Material Jetting Liquid (photo)polymers, waxy polymers DoD: Drop on Demand / Drop on Drop.
Extrusion Thermoplastic polymer filament FDM: or FFF: Fused Deposition Modelling or Fused Filament Fabrication
Role of 3d printing in medical field
Here are some of the ways in which 3D printer is being
already used in healthcare industry.
1. Prosthesis development
2. Tissue engineering
3. Skin for Burn Victims
4. Drug Development
5. Social change
6. 3D Model libraries [9]
.
Recent innovations
The FDA displays the first 3D printed pill to help to stop
epileptic seizures. The 3D printed LEVETIRACETAM pill
was permitted for use by US FDA this past august by the
trade name of SPRITAM® and expected to be offered soon in
2016. SPRITAM utilizes Apraxia’s proprietary Zip Dose®
Technology platform, a ground breaking advance that uses
three-dimensional printing to produce a porous formulation
that rapidly disintegrates with a sip of liquid. Whereas 3DP
has been used previously to manufacture medical devices, this
approval marks the first time a drug product manufactured
with this technology has been approved by the FDA. Zip dose
creates pills that instantly dissolve on the tongue with a sip of
liquid a potential born to those who have trouble swallowing
traditional medication.
Personalized medication
The dream behind 3D printing is that medication will be
tailored to individual in way that makes it safer and more
effective. The size, dose, appearance and rate of delivery of a
drug can be designed to suit an individual. 3D printing has
enabled the creation of high dose rapid dissipation pills,
affording doctor reliable customization and complete control
over the speed and strength of delivered dosage. The word
"personalized medicine" is regularly described as providing
"the right patient with the right drug at the right dose at the
right time [8]
.

~ 172 ~
Current 3dp technologies and pharmaceutical formulations for drug delivery
Table 2: Current 3DP technologies and pharmaceutical formulations for drug delivery [2]
.
Type of 3D process/technique Active ingredient/polymer Dosage form
3D printed Poly (lactide-coglycolide), Biodegradable patch
FDM Hydrochlorothiazide Tablet
Stereo lithography (SLA) Ibuprofen, Riboflavin, Polyethylene Hydrogel
UV inkjet 3D printed Ropinirole, Cross-Linked Poly(Ethylene Glycol Acrylate) Tablet
FDM and SLA FPLA-salicylic acid and PCL salicylicilic acid. Model of a nose adapted to the morphology of individual.
FDM and Hot Melt extrusion Domperidone, Hydroxypropyle Cellulose Tablet
FDM 3D printing Felodipine, PEG, PEO, Tween 80, Eudragit. Tablet
Thermal Inkjet (TIJ) Printing Rasagiline Mesy late Solid dosage forms
FDM Poly (Ε-Caprolactone) (PCL) Nano capsules
Challenges in 3d printing technology
1. The challenges comprise optimization of the
development, improving presentation of device for
versatile use, selections of appropriate excipients, post
treatment method, etc.,
2. To complete quality 3DP products, many important
parameters need to be optimized like printing rate,
printing passes, line velocity of the print head, interval
time between two printing layer, distance between the
nozzles and the powder layer, etc [12]
.
Pharmaceutical applications of 3d printing
1. 3D Pinting is presently used or below research for oral
drugs, implantable drug delivery devices, tissue bio
printing, strategies such as prosthesis and even food
products.
2. When compared to traditional drug manufacturing, it was
observed that 3DP is capable of producing reasonably
priced, on-demand, patient tailored drugs and/or an
increased product complexity.
3. Certain of the aims are minimising side effects, by
achieving near-zero-order release by printing tropical,
cylindrical or perforated oral formulations or by using
radial gradients of erosion or diffusion-controlling
excipients.
4. The aptitude to produce unique, individual or multi-drug
and/or multi-dose formulations, can be the other
important advantage of 3DP medicines, as demand for
personalized medicine is increasing and becoming a
megatrend, according to the FDA passes, line velocity of
the print head, interval time between two printing layer,
distance between the nozzles and the powder layer [5]
.
Medical and current applications
1. Wound Dressing
2. Implants and Prostheses
3. Models for Surgical Planning and Training, Phantoms
4. Bio printing and Organs-on-Chip
5. 5.4th Dimension of Printing
6.
Bio robotics [1]
.
Conclusion
3D printing has developed a valuable and impending
instrument for the pharmaceutical sector, primary to modified
medicine focused on the patients’ desires. 3D Printing
technology is developing as a new prospect for innovative
drug delivery with built-in flexibility that is well suited for
tailored medication. 3D Printing technology will develop the
pharmaceutical manufacturing style and formulation
techniques.
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to Hazrat Maulana G.M. Vastanvi
sahab, President of Jamia Islamia Ishaatul Uloom’s Ali Allana
College of Pharmacy Akkalkuwa Dist. Nandurbar for
providing the research facilities.
References
1. Witold J, Joanna S, Mateusz K et al. 3D Printing in
Pharmaceutical and Medical Applications – Recent
Achievements and Challenges, Pharm Res. 2018; 35:176.
2. Diego JH. 3D Printing of Pharmaceutical Drug Delivery
Systems, Arc Org Inorg Chem Sci. 2018; 1:2.
3. Preethy Ani Jose. 3d Printing of Pharmaceuticals-A
potential technology in developing personalized
medicine, Asian Journal of pharmaceutical research and
development. 2018; 6(3):46-54.
4. Mammadov E. Three-Dimensional Printing in Medicine:
Current Status and Future Perspectives. Cyprus J Med
Sci. 2018; 3(3):186-8.
5. Ion-Bogdan D, Dumitru L, Cristina Manuela D et al. The
Age of Pharmaceutical 3d Printing. Technological and
therapeutical implications of Additive manufacturing.
Pharmacia. 2018; 66:3.
6. Wen-Kai H, Barbara L, Herbert R. 3D printing of oral
drugs: a new reality or hype? Expert opinion on drug
delivery, 2017.
7. Samuel Clark Robert L, Jü rgen S et al. Polymers for 3D
printing and customized additive manufacturing,
chemical reviews, ACS publication, 2017.
8. S Swati, N Jyothi, G Nirmala Jyothi, N Lakshmi
Prasanthi, A Review On 3d Printed Tablets: A
downloadable medicine, Asian journal of pharmaceutical
technology & innovation. 2016; 04(20):34-39.
9. Sharma S, Goel SA. Three-dimensional printing and its
future in medical world. Journal of Medical Research and
Innovation. 2019; 3(1).
10. Monisha B, Varun S, Gurfateh SS et al. 3D Printing for
the future of pharmaceuticals dosages forms, Int. J App
Pharm. 2018; 10(3):1-7.
11. Bhusnure OG, Gholve SV, Dongre RC, et al. 3D printing
& pharmaceutical manufacturing: opportunities and
challenges. International Journal of Bioassays. 2016;
5(1):4723-4738.
12. Maulvi FA, Shah MJ, Solanki BS, Patel AS, Soni TG et
al. Application of 3D Printing Technology in the
Development of Novel Drug Delivery Systems. Int. J
Drug Dev & Res. 2017; 9(1):44-49.
13. Shaban A Khaled, Morgan R Alexander, Derek J Irvine
et al. Extrusion 3D Printing of Paracetamol Tablets from
a Single Formulation with Tunable Release Profiles

~ 173 ~
Through Control of Tablet Geometry, AAPS Pharm Sci.
Tech, 2018, 19(8).
14. Lei D, Ting C, Chao D et al. 3D printing using plant-
derived cellulose and its derivatives: A review,
Carbohydrate Polymers. 2019; 203:71-86.
15. Jassim-Jaboori AH, Oyewumi MO. 3D Printing
Technology in Pharmaceutical Drug Delivery: Prospects
and Challenges. J Biomol Res Ther, 2015, 4(4).

A review on 3D printing in Pharmaceuticals

More Related Content

What's hot (20)

Similar to A review on 3D printing in Pharmaceuticals (20)

More from Makrani Shaharukh (19)

Recently uploaded (20)

A review on 3D printing in Pharmaceuticals