Drug delivery and testing via 3D printing

3D printing first came into existence in the year 1984. Since then, it has found significant use in various fields, including pharmaceutical industries.3D printing is a process of manufacturing products by depositing materials layer by layer. Thus, also called additive manufacturing. Additive manufacturing provides patient-specific formulation, an advantage over conventional drug design methods. 3D printing helps in the designing of complex structures. Since the approval of the first 3D-printed tablet, this field has gained popularity. In this review, various techniques used in 3D printing have been discussed. This article further gives insight into the recent research done on AM technology. There is also some discussion about the formulations made for pediatric patients using AM technology. Different types of drug delivery systems mentioned in this work are oral, vaginal, rectal, oro-mucosal, transdermal, and implant. Further drug testing devices, including 3D-printed organoids and organ-on-chip models, have been discussed. Finally, it gives information about the future direction of this technology.