In recent years, the interest in 3D printing of medicines has increased due to many advantages of this technology, such as flexibility of the dose and dosage form of the printed product. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is one of the most popular 3D printing technologies in the pharmaceutical field, due to its low cost and simplicity. The subject of this review is the potential use of natural products as biodegradable and biocompatible materials with good safety profiles in FDM 3D printing of pharmaceuticals. Natural products such as alginate, chitosan and starch have already been employed as excipients in FDM 3D printed pharmaceutical dosage forms, while others like shellac and zein show the potential, but haven't yet been part of 3D printed pharmaceutical formulations. These excipients have different roles in the formulation of filaments for FDM 3D printing, for example as fillers, matrix carriers or drug-release modifiers. In addition, the possibility of incorporating active pharmaceutical ingredients of natural origin in filaments for FDM 3D printing was reviewed. High printing temperatures limit the use of natural products in FDM 3D printing. However, adequate selection of thermoplastic material and printing parameters can widen the use of natural products in FDM 3D printing of pharmaceutical dosage forms.

Introduction: In addition to the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), the composition of the medicines also includes excipients which are only ideally completely pharmacologically inactive. It has been shown that excipients in inhaled preparations can cause effects opposite to the pharmacological effect of the medicine. Aim: The Aim of the study was to identify potentially harmful excipients in inhaled medicines approved in the Republic of Serbia. Material and Methods: The academic study was conducted during April 2021 and included the analysis of medicines that received a marketing authorization from the Medicines and Medical Devices Agency of Serbia (ALIMS). Qualitative compositions of inhaled medicines available in Summaries of product characteristics (SmPC) on the ALIMS's official website were observed. Excipients considered potentially harmful if they are recognised as excipients with known effect (EKE) in Serbian and European regulations. Results: Total of 46 inhalation preparations that are approved in Serbia were analyzed. In their composition were found 17 different excipients. By comparing appropriate domestic and European regulations three excipients from examined preparations that represent potential causative agents of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were identified: lactose-monohydrate, ethanol and benzalkonium chloride. It has been shown that disodium EDTA is also a potential causative agent of ADRs, but it is not classified as EKE. Conclusion: Neither domestic nor international regulations have classified EDTA and its salts as EKE and they should be given special attention in the future as potential causative agents of ADRs. It has been shown that benzalkonium chloride is the only excipient that can lead to bronchospasm and it was found in two inhaled medicines.