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Review
. 2024 Mar 15:27:12797.
doi: 10.3389/jpps.2024.12797. eCollection 2024.

Formulating biopharmaceuticals using three-dimensional printing

Alistair K C Chan  1   2 , Nehil Ranjitham Gopalakrishnan  1   2 , Yannick Leandre Traore  1   2 , Emmanuel A Ho  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Formulating biopharmaceuticals using three-dimensional printing

Alistair K C Chan et al. J Pharm Pharm Sci. .

Abstract

Additive manufacturing, commonly referred to as three-dimensional (3D) printing, has the potential to initiate a paradigm shift in the field of medicine and drug delivery. Ever since the advent of the first-ever United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA)-approved 3D printed tablet, there has been an increased interest in the application of this technology in drug delivery and biomedical applications. 3D printing brings us one step closer to personalized medicine, hence rendering the "one size fits all" concept in drug dosing obsolete. In this review article, we focus on the recent developments in the field of modified drug delivery systems in which various types of additive manufacturing technologies are applied.

Keywords: additive manufacturing; drug delivery systems; fused deposition modelling; powder bed fusion; vat photopolymerization.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Schematic representation of FDM process. 1. A 3D model of the intended object is generated using a CAD software and saved mostly as a Standard Tesselation Language (STL) file. 2. The 3D model is sliced to layers (outlined in red) using a slicing software. 3. The printer is then used to print the model by extrusion of the melted filament. 4. The finished product might be processed post-printing to impart desired mechanical or aesthetic properties.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
(A): Normal flow of filament through the heated block. (B): Buckling of filament between the heated block and the pinch feed rollers.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
A schematic of SLA printing. Each layer of the desired object is printed when a computer-controlled laser beam is projected onto the liquid resin surface in the desired pattern, leading to solidification. Each of the formed layer is then submerged into liquid resin and new resin is allowed to solidify atop the surface and the process is repeated until the entire desired object has been printed.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
A schematic of PBF printing. Each layer of the desired object is printed when an energy source, either a laser or an electron beam, fuses the powder on the build platform. A new layer of powder is spread, using a roller, from the powder stock across the printed layer and the process is repeated until the entire desired object has been printed.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Prototype of a macaque-sized IVR printed with a custom-built FDM printer built by Laboratory for Drug Delivery and Biomaterials, Ho Research Group, University of Waterloo.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
A prototype of a microneedle patch printed with a vat photopolymerization printer built by Laboratory for Drug Delivery and Biomaterials, Ho Research Group, University of Waterloo. (A) Depicts the length and width of a prototype microneedle patch (B) depicts the prototype microneedle patch, taken with a OMAX 3.5X-90X Digital Trinocular Stereo Microscope attached with 0.5X Reduction Lens for Microscope Camera and 144 LED Light, courtesy of Drug Delivery and Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology Laboratory, Foldvari Research Group, University of Waterloo (C) thickness of the patch as determined using a digital caliper.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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