Perspective: Concepts of printing technologies for oral film formulations

Different types of printing methods have recently attracted interest as emerging technologies for fabrication of drug delivery systems. If printing is combined with different oral film manufacturing technologies such as solvent casting and other techniques, multifunctional structures can be created to enable further complexity and high level of sophistication. This review paper intends to provide profound understanding and future perspectives for the potential use of printing technologies in the preparation of oral film formulations as novel drug delivery systems. The described concepts include advanced multi-layer coatings, stacked systems, and integrated bioactive multi-compartments, which comprise of integrated combinations of diverse materials to form sophisticated bio-functional constructs. The advanced systems enable tailored dosing for individual drug therapy, easy and safe manufacturing of high-potent drugs, development and manufacturing of fixed-dose combinations and product tracking for anti-counterfeiting strategies.