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Pharmaceutics
Special Issues
3D Printing and Personalized Medicine: Advancing Drug Delivery Systems
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3D Printing and Personalized Medicine: Advancing Drug Delivery Systems

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Drug Delivery and Controlled Release".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 1937

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hyun-Ouk Kim

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea
Interests: cancer; infectious diseases; nanoencapsulation; nanomedicine; nanoparticles; new drug delivery systems; polymersome; theragnosis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Abdullah Alzahrani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Industrial Pharmacy, Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA
Interests: pharmaceutical 3D printing; bioprinting; hot melt extrusion; additive manufacturing; continuous manufacturing; spray drying; twin-screw granulation; amorphous solid dispersions; solubility and bioavailability enhancement of poorly soluble drugs; tailored drug release strategies; solid oral dosage forms; implants; ocular formulations; colon-targeted drug delivery; personalized medicine; smart dosage forms

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The intersection of 3D printing and personalized medicine is revolutionizing the field of drug delivery. Additive manufacturing offers unprecedented control over dosage form geometry, composition, and release kinetics, enabling the design of tailored therapies for specific patient populations. As healthcare shifts toward individualized treatments, there is a growing need for on-demand, scalable, and patient-specific pharmaceutical solutions that improve therapeutic outcomes and compliance.

This Special Issue aims to explore recent advances, innovations, and challenges in the development of 3D-printed drug delivery systems that support the goals of personalized medicine. We welcome contributions that address pharmaceutical design, formulation optimization, digital workflows, process engineering, and regulatory considerations related to 3D printing technologies.

By providing a multidisciplinary platform, this Special Issue seeks to bring together scientists, engineers, clinicians, and regulatory experts to showcase how 3D printing is transforming the future of pharmaceutics and healthcare.

We invite original research articles and reviews. Suggested themes and article types include the following:

  • Pharmaceutical applications of fused deposition modeling (FDM), inkjet, SLS, and SLA printing.
  • Personalized drug dosage and patient-specific geometries.
  • Three-dimensional printing of solid, semi-solid, and transdermal dosage forms.
  • Drug–excipient compatibility and preformulation strategies.
  • Hot-melt extrusion (HME) and 3D printing integration.
  • Controlled, pulsatile, or multi-layer drug release systems.
  • Computational modeling, AI, and digital design tools for formulation.
  • Regulatory frameworks and quality-by-design (QbD) in additive manufacturing.
  • Pediatric, geriatric, and rare disease-targeted dosage forms.
  • Clinical translation and industrial scalability of 3D-printed pharmaceuticals.

We look forward to your valuable contributions.

Dr. Hyun-Ouk Kim
Dr. Abdullah Alzahrani
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceutics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • 3D printing
  • personalized medicine
  • additive manufacturing
  • fused deposition modeling (FDM)
  • hot-melt extrusion (HME)
  • solid dosage forms
  • tailored drug release
  • in silico formulation
  • quality-by-design (QbD)
  • digital pharmaceutics

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

16 pages, 1014 KB  
Review
Recent Achievements and Perspectives in Nebulization Devices for Anterior Segment Disease Treatment
by Hongru Liu, Qibin Deng, Jun Cao, Tao Wang, Junxi Chen and Ke Xiong
Pharmaceutics 2026, 18(4), 404; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics18040404 - 25 Mar 2026
Viewed by 633
Abstract
Ocular diseases pose significant therapeutic challenges due to the eye’s intricate anatomy and efficient physiological clearance mechanisms, which result in the rapid elimination of topically administered drugs and an overall bioavailability of less than 5%. Anterior segment disorders—including keratitis, glaucoma, and dry eye [...] Read more.
Ocular diseases pose significant therapeutic challenges due to the eye’s intricate anatomy and efficient physiological clearance mechanisms, which result in the rapid elimination of topically administered drugs and an overall bioavailability of less than 5%. Anterior segment disorders—including keratitis, glaucoma, and dry eye syndrome—account for the majority of ophthalmic conditions and are primarily managed with pharmacological agents. However, due to extremely low drug bioavailability and poor patient compliance, their therapeutic outcomes often result in a decreased disease control rate or require early surgical interventions. Nebulized drug delivery, particularly employing advanced vibrating mesh technology, has emerged as a promising strategy to overcome these limitations. By converting liquid formulations into a uniform aerosol of micron-sized (1–10 μm) droplets, this approach achieves extensive and consistent coverage of the ocular surface, increases the absorption contact area, prolongs drug residence time, and ultimately enhances drug bioavailability. Preliminary clinical evidence indicates that nebulized therapies outperform traditional eye drops by achieving higher drug concentrations in the aqueous humor and demonstrating superior pharmacodynamic profiles and patient tolerability—particularly in conditions such as dry eye syndrome and glaucoma. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the mechanistic principles, technological advancements, and translational applications of nebulization-based ocular drug delivery systems. We place special emphasis on the integration of next-generation platforms that incorporate microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and intelligent sensing technologies, enabling precision medicine approaches tailored to individual ocular pathophysiological characteristics. By bridging biomedical engineering and clinical ophthalmology, these innovations not only optimize existing therapeutic regimens but also pave the way for non-invasive delivery of complex biologics and gene therapies—potentially reshaping the landscape of anterior segment drug delivery. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Printing and Personalized Medicine: Advancing Drug Delivery Systems)
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40 pages, 2001 KB  
Review
Botanical and Upcycled Bioactives for Advanced Topical Formulations: Mechanistic Pathways, Cutaneous Delivery, and Sustainability-by-Design
by Salvatore Panza, Beatrice Pellegrini, Dorotea Fiore, Martine Tarsitano, Antonia Mancuso, Maria Chiara Cristiano and Donatella Paolino
Pharmaceutics 2026, 18(3), 375; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics18030375 - 18 Mar 2026
Viewed by 845
Abstract
Natural and sustainable cosmetics represent a rapidly evolving frontier in dermatological science, integrating plant-derived bioactive compounds with advanced delivery technologies and environmentally conscious formulation design. Botanical ingredients, including polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, and polysaccharides, modulate key biological pathways involved in oxidative stress, inflammation, [...] Read more.
Natural and sustainable cosmetics represent a rapidly evolving frontier in dermatological science, integrating plant-derived bioactive compounds with advanced delivery technologies and environmentally conscious formulation design. Botanical ingredients, including polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, and polysaccharides, modulate key biological pathways involved in oxidative stress, inflammation, extracellular matrix remodeling, pigmentation, and immune responses, thereby supporting skin regeneration, protection, and homeostasis. To overcome limitations related to instability, compositional variability, and limited skin penetration, these compounds are increasingly incorporated into advanced delivery systems such as nanoemulsions, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs), vesicular systems, microneedle platforms, three-dimensional matrices, and plant-derived extracellular vesicles (PDEVs). These technologies enhance cutaneous bioavailability, enable controlled release, and improve tissue targeting, linking formulation design to exposure–response relationships. In parallel, sustainability has become a critical component of product development. Circular economy strategies, including the upcycling of agro-industrial by-products, green extraction technologies, biodegradable packaging, and life cycle assessment, are reshaping cosmetic innovation. Regulatory frameworks are also evolving to address safety, efficacy, and transparency of natural claims, as well as the challenges of botanical standardization. This narrative review, conducted through a structured literature search, provides a mechanistically oriented analysis of botanical ingredients in dermatology, emphasizing molecular pathways, skin delivery science, and safety considerations. Rather than cataloguing ingredients, it proposes a translational framework linking phytochemistry, delivery science, safety-by-design principles, and sustainability to support the rational development of effective and safe dermatological formulations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Printing and Personalized Medicine: Advancing Drug Delivery Systems)
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