Polysaccharide 3D Printing for Drug Delivery Applications

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Science
• Materials Science
• Biotechnology

Background:

• 3D printing offers design versatility and material choice for personalized medicine.
• Polysaccharides are biocompatible, biodegradable natural polymers widely used in pharmaceuticals.
• A gap exists in reviews focusing on 3D printing of polysaccharides for drug delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advances in 3D printing of polysaccharides for drug delivery applications.
• To highlight the potential of 3D printed polysaccharide matrices in personalized pharmaceutical treatments.
• To focus on specific polysaccharides like cellulose, chitosan, and sodium alginate.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent scientific literature on 3D printing and polysaccharide-based drug delivery.
• Focus on fused deposition modeling and extrusion-based printing techniques.
• Analysis of polysaccharide properties relevant to additive manufacturing.

Main Results:

• Polysaccharides show promise as matrices for 3D printed drug delivery systems.
• Cellulose, chitosan, and sodium alginate are key candidates for 3D printing.
• Fused deposition modeling and extrusion-based printing are viable methods for polysaccharide fabrication.

Conclusions:

• 3D printing of polysaccharides is a developing field with significant potential for personalized drug delivery.
• Further research into optimizing polysaccharide formulations and printing parameters is warranted.
• This review addresses the need for focused information on 3D printed polysaccharides in pharmaceutical applications.