Medical practitioners commonly use oral and parenteral dosage forms to administer drugs to patients. However, these forms have certain drawbacks, particularly concerning patients’ comfort and compliance. Transdermal drug delivery presents a promising solution to address these issues. Nevertheless, the stratum corneum, as the outermost skin layer, can impede drug permeation, especially for macromolecules, genetic materials, stem cells, and secretome. Microneedles, a dosage form for transdermal delivery, offer an alternative approach, particularly for biopharmaceutical products. In this review, the authors will examine the latest research on microneedle formulations designed to deliver genetic materials, stem cells, and their derivatives. Numerous studies have explored different types of microneedles and evaluated their ability to deliver these products using preclinical models. Some of these investigations have compared microneedles with conventional dosage forms, demonstrating their significant potential for advancing the development of biotherapeutics in the future.
A new chapter in the pharmaceutical industry has been created by 3D printing, particularly in the manufacturing of solid preparations. This technology can support the modification of medicine in terms of drug dosage. Furthermore, it is achieved by adjusting the volume of tablets while being designed using the software to meet the required dose. The research aims to review several polymers used in 3D printing through the fused deposition modeling (FDM) technique. The polymers in filament fabrication for 3D printed tablets should be thermoplastic and have the appropriate mechanical properties for further processing steps. This review focuses on studying the characteristics of polymers such as polylactic acid, polyvinyl alcohol, polycaprolactone, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polyethylene oxide, ethylene vinyl acetate, ethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, and hydroxypropyl cellulose. Additionally, it discusses the effect of these polymers on the drug release profile from the 3D printed tablets.