Abstract

GASTRORETENTIVE POLYMERIC MATRIX FOR INCREASED GASTRIC RETENTION TIME, BUOYANCY AND DRUG RELEASE KINETICS OF FLOATING TABLETS OF FAMOTIDINE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Talat Khan*, Mohd Danish, Bhupesh Kumar Verma and Alok Mukerjee

ABSTRACT

Systematically designed gastroretentive floating formulations of famotidine were prepared to increase therapeutic efficacy, reduce frequency of administration and improve patient compliance. The amount and duration of the drug released from the matrix is influenced by a number of factors such as polymer-drug ratio, compression pressure, particle size of drug, pH of matrix, entrapped air in tablet, molecular size of drug, solubility of drug, presence of excipients or additives and the mode of corporation of substances. Moreover, the most dominant factors governing drug release profile are composition of polymeric matrix and its viscosity. In the present work, six different formulations (F1-F6) were prepared using the polymers carbapol 940P and HPMC K4M in different ratios (w/w). Floating Tablets of famotidine were prepared by direct compression method and were evaluated for physical characteristics, weight, hardness, friability, flow characteristics, swelling index, drug content, floating properties and in vitro drug release characteristics. Results show that all the formulations were able to cater good and sustained drug release profile. Notably, enhanced total floating time was observed for the tablets containing almost equal amount of both polymers, leading to increased gastric retention time.

Keywords: Floating Tablets; Famotidine, controlled drug release; total floating time; gastro-retentive drug delivery system.