3D Printing Offers Hope for Targeted Cancer Drug Delivery

University of Mississippi research shows promise in using 3D-printed carriers to deliver cancer medications directly to tumors.

Apr. 7, 2026 at 6:38am

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A highly structured abstract painting in muted earth tones, depicting sweeping geometric arcs, concentric circles, and precise botanical spirals, conceptually representing the microscopic delivery of cancer-fighting drugs via 3D-printed spanlastic carriers.3D-printed drug carriers offer a promising new approach to targeted cancer therapy, concentrating treatments at the tumor site to minimize debilitating side effects.University Today

Researchers at the University of Mississippi have developed a new 3D printing technique using spanlastics - tiny drug-filled carriers - that could deliver cancer-fighting medications directly to tumor sites, potentially reducing the severe side effects often experienced with traditional chemotherapy treatments.

Why it matters

Current chemotherapy treatments disperse cancer drugs throughout the body, impacting healthy cells and causing debilitating side effects. Targeted delivery of cancer drugs directly to the tumor site could dramatically improve treatment outcomes and quality of life for patients.

The details

The Ole Miss team demonstrated that 3D-printed spanlastics - microscopic capsules 200-300 nanometers in size - can be filled with cancer-fighting drugs and implanted directly at the tumor site. This allows the medication to penetrate and kill cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy cells elsewhere in the body.

  • The study was published in Pharmaceutical Research in April 2026.

The players

Mo Maniruzzaman

Chair and professor of pharmaceutics and drug delivery at the University of Mississippi, who led the research team.

Jaidev Chakka

Principal scientist in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Mississippi, who worked on the project.

Elom Doe

A third-year doctoral student in pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Mississippi, who contributed to the research.

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What they’re saying

“Delivering chemotherapeutics is always a nasty business because of the severe side effects that the patients experience. The goal of this publication is: 'How we can minimize those side effects?'”

— Jaidev Chakka, Principal scientist

“Having the drug in an implant, or in our case, a 3D-printed construct, and placing that construct at the tumor sites means we can concentrate the delivery to the tumor area, instead of throughout the whole body.”

— Elom Doe, Doctoral student

What’s next

The researchers caution that this lab-based study is only the first step, and further testing in animal models and clinical trials will be necessary before this technology could be used to treat cancer patients.

The takeaway

This innovative 3D printing technique offers hope for a new approach to cancer treatment that could dramatically improve outcomes and quality of life for patients by delivering cancer-fighting drugs directly to the tumor site, reducing the debilitating side effects of traditional chemotherapy.