Three Dimensional Printing (3DP) for Space Pharmaceuticals

Abstract

Three Dimensional Printing (3DP) technology has evolved as an emerging technique with huge potential having a promising impact on the production of pharmaceuticals using simple and rapid strategies for product fabrication. The applications of 3DP have found an amazing and incredible approach in drug delivery field including space pharmaceuticals. The increasing human explorations to space demand an overview of the available medications that could help in the maintenance of wellness of astronauts and their performance during long space travel to weightlessness since there exists a huge difference between the microgravity and terrestrial environments. The absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of active agents might be different in space owing to the physiological alterations that occur during spaceflights viz-a-viz muscle loss and cardiovascular changes, fluid loss, and fluid shifts. In addition to the potential implications of the microgravity on drug therapeutic effect and safety due to the changes in pharmacokinetic and/or pharmacodynamic profiles of medication, changes in stability of drug in weightlessness could also affect drug efficiency during spaceflights. Based on these knowledge gaps, studies that seek to understand drug effects in space should be given preference, for example, based on their usage. Such investigations are likely to depend more on newer, less-invasive techniques such as 3DP strategies, unmanned space vehicles due to automatization, which decreases astronauts' workload. In this regard, customized dosage forms can be fabricated in-flight with multi-faceted drug release kinetics for precision and personalized therapy. In-depth understanding of space pharmacology can assist in the choice of space pharmaceuticals with predictable therapeutic responses in prolonged missions such as the expected alterations of their receptor binding, or major route of elimination, flexible dosage, and ultimately effective and enhanced treatment outcomes.