Three dimensional printing in pharmaceutical and medical practice

Three-dimensional printing (3DP) is a method of rapid prototyping, classified to the solid freeform fabrication technologies or an additive printing processes. Due to its advantages such as: precision, flexibility and capability of manufacturing complicated objects in a short time, this technology is applied to science and engineering. The attempts have been made to use 3DP method in pharmaceutical technology to prepare drug delivery devices with complicated shapes, complex inner structures, containing different active substances and excipients. The precisely defined architecture allows a programming of the desired drug release profiles. The three-dimensional printing technique is suitable for manufacturing of matrix or coated systems, multilayer tablets, orodispersible tablets and implants. The other medical applications include the design of surgical procedures or manufacturing of artificial tissues and organs.