THREE-DIMENSIONAL PRINTING IN PHARMACEUTICS AND HEALTHCARE: TECHNOLOGIES, APPLICATIONS, PERSONALIZED MEDICINE AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

Additive manufacturing or three-dimensional (3D) printing is an emerging technology in pharmaceutical and medical industries. It allows for the layer-by-layer creation of dosage forms with tailored shape, drug loading, internal architecture, and release characteristics, in contrast to traditional manufacture. This review discusses the essential ideas and workflow of 3D printing, including computer-aided design, STL conversion, slicing, fabrication, and post-processing. Major printing technologies, such as fused deposition modeling, stereolithography, digital light processing, continuous liquid interface production, selective laser sintering, selective laser melting, semi-solid extrusion, and inkjet printing, are reviewed with emphasis on their operating mechanisms, advantages, limitations, and pharmaceutical relevance. Applications in pediatric and geriatric formulations, patient-specific dosage, polypills, immediate-, sustained-, and pulsatile-release systems, osmotic systems, and 3D-printed microneedles are also highlighted in the review. The review also addresses ethical and regulatory considerations related to sterility, material safety, process validation, quality control, and patient safety. Overall, 3D printing represents a versatile platform for customized and controlled drug delivery; however, material limitations, scalability, safety, and regulatory challenges remain important barriers to broader clinical translation.