Abstract

MICROBALLOONS - FROM FORMULATION TO PHARMACEUTICAL DESIGN AND APPLICATIONS

R. Senthil Prabhu*, C. Senthil and A. Abdul Hasan Sathali

ABSTRACT

The advantage of this review on micro balloons is to accumulate the recent development on floatation to increase the gastric retention in the stomach and consequently, enhance that’s absorption and improve that’s bioavailability. Microballoons promises to be a potential approach for gastric retention time in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Microballoons were spherical in shape with porous smooth surface and good floating behavior. The microballoons exhibited prolonged drug release (8 hrs) and remained buoyant for ˃10hrs. The release rate was significantly affected by the type of combination and amount of the polymer used. The present review discussed about the preparation methods of micro balloons, limitations, applications and polymers used in the formulation.

Keywords: Microballoons, Floating Drug Delivery Systems (FDDS), Gastro-retentive Drug Delivery systems (GRDDS), Formulations, Methods and polymers.