3D-printed Medicines and Personalized Dosage: Shaping the Future of Precision Pharmaceutics

Abstract

The advent of three-dimensional (3D) printing, or additive manufacturing, has revolutionized the pharmaceutical landscape by enabling the design and fabrication of highly customized, patient-specific dosage forms. Traditional mass-production models, though efficient, often fail to accommodate inter-patient variability in physiology, genetics, and therapeutic response. 3D printing bridges this gap by allowing precise control over drug loading, release kinetics, and dosage geometry, thus advancing the paradigm of personalized and precision pharmaceutics. Various techniques such as fused deposition modeling (FDM), inkjet printing, stereolithography (SLA), and selective laser sintering (SLS) have been successfully adapted for pharmaceutical use, offering the flexibility to produce complex formulations including polypills, Oro dispersible films, microneedle patches, and implantable devices. Integration with artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and digital health systems further enhances its potential for on-demand, decentralized manufacturing at the point of care. Despite its transformative promise, challenges persist regarding scalability, regulatory compliance, stability of thermo-labile drugs, and ethical concerns surrounding decentralized production. Nonetheless, 3D printing represents a paradigm shift toward a more patient-centric, sustainable, and technologically advanced pharmaceutical future.