Gastroretentive Drug Delivery Systems with improved Floating and Swelling Capabilities

Abstract

For medications with an absorption window in the stomach and upper part of small intestine, a controlled drug delivery system with a longer stomach residence duration can be particularly useful. Rapid gastrointestinal transit may cause drug delivery system above the absorption zone to only partially release drug, which would reduce the supplied dose's effectiveness. The main drawbacks are linked to the non-uniformity of drug absorption across the alimentary canal and the inter- and intra-subject variability of gastro-intestinal transit time. The bioavailability of medications is predicted to be improved by floating delivery systems, which are designed to stay buoyant on the gastric contents for an extended period of time. Floating in combination with swellable system gaining attention due to their wide applicability in the targeting of drugs to stomach. These floating and swellable tablet have the advantage that they remain buoyant and swells to 2-3 folds in gastric fluid.