Printability of Pharmaceutical Polymers: Issues and Solutions

3D printing offers nowadays great potential for the manufacture of pharmaceutical dosage forms. Despite the advantages provided by this technology, there is still a lack of pharmaceutical-grade suitable feedstock materials designed especially for 3D printing. From the perspective of the raw materials used, the proposed printing methods have a common element, namely, polymers. The polymers are used either alone or as blends with other pharmaceutical excipients, usually utilized for manufacturing of dosage forms using conventional technologies. This chapter provides an overview of polymers used in 3D printing applications for dosage forms manufacturing. The polymers relevant to these applications are described by highlighting their general applications in pharmaceutical technology, structural information, physicochemical characteristics, and suitability for 3D printing applications. Besides their general description, a section is dedicated to the presentation of the printability issues of the polymers according to the printing method, as well as the main solutions proposed in the scientific literature to overcome these issues. This material provides a general guide for the selection of the starting material according to the chosen printing method, for those interested in applying 3D printing in the manufacture of pharmaceutical dosage forms.