Abstract

Arun K. A.*, Nagaraja T. S., Uma M., Snehalatha

ABSTRACT

Oral administration of drugs is a popular route and formulation for both existing and new drugs. Gastro retentive drug delivery is a method of extending gastric residence time, allowing for site-specific drug release in the upper gastrointestinal tract (GIT) for either local or systemic effects. Floating Drug Delivery Systems (FDDS) have a lower bulk density than gastric fluids and thus remain buoyant in the stomach for an extended period of time. Microballoons are based on a non-effervescent system containing empty spherical particles with no core that are ideally less than 200 micrometers in size. Microballoons have been shown to be more effective at controlling the release rate of drugs with site specific absorption. The floating microballoons illustrated gastroretentive controlled release delivery with efficient bioavailability enhancement and promise to be a promising approach for gastric retention. The advantages, limitations, methods of preparation of hollow microballoons, applications, polymers used in hollow microballoons, characterizations of microballoons, and formulation aspects with various evaluation techniques and marketed products are all covered in detail. Basic anatomy and physiology of the stomach are also studied.