The revolutionary technology of 3D printing in the pharmaceutical field

From when the first 3D printing technology was patented, this manufacturing field has grown exponentially developing new techniques and inventing innovative applications. During the last decade, the interest in its usage for pharmaceutical-related purposes raise dramatically. 3D printing has been explored to produce pharmaceutical forms, medical devices, manufacturing devices, and analytical devices. In this thesis, the results of the research conducted with the application of 3D printing during my PhD programme has been presented. As medical device, we were able to efficiently produce a 3D printed intravaginal ring loaded with clotrimazole. This ring showed a sustained release and an efficient killing activity against C. Albicans, the pathogen causing vaginal candidiasis. Then, as manufacturing devices, we developed 3D printed microfluidic devices firstly using polylactic acid and then polypropylene. Using them, we manufactured lipid and polymer-based nanocarriers in a controllable and tunable manner encapsulating glycyrrhetinic acid, and cannabidiol. These devices resulted resistant to the manufacturing process with a very lower overall cost compared to commercially available microfluidic systems and with the possibility of quick personalization based on the user needs. Finally, as analytical device, we developed a 3D printed vertical diffusion cell or Franz cell that can be efficiently used instead of glass ones to evaluate drug release and/or permeation. This thesis provides new insights on the use of 3D printing for pharmaceutical applications, supporting the idea that in the close future 3D printing will be used for the formulation of personalized medicines in pharmacies and that this technology will help the diffusion of personalized and low-cost manufacturing and analytical devices in research laboratories.