FORMULATION DEVELOPMENT OF FLOATING DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM (FDDS) FOR LAFUTIDINE

He objective of the present study was to develop floating tablets of lafutidine in order to achieve an extended retention in the upper GITwhich may enhance the absorption and improve the bioavailability.The tablets were prepared by gas generation technique using differentratio and concentrations of natural gums like guar gum, gum karaya, hupu gum. Lafutidine a newly developed histamine H2 - receptor antagonist wasretained in the stomach and assist in improving the oral sustaineddelivery of drugs in the gastrointestinal tract. The prepared tablets ofvarious formulations were characterized for a total floating time, buoy ancy lag time, andpercentage drug released. The blend was characterized for determination ofangle of repose, Hausner’s ratio, compressibility, bulk density and tapped density. The floating tablets wereevaluated for determination of weight variation, hardne ss, friability, content uniformity,floating lag time, total floating time, in ? vitro drug release study, stability studies. The flowproperties of prepared floating tablets were found to be excellent. Tablets showed satisfactory characteristics with respect to weight, hardness and friability data. The formulation code F10 showed superior results it may be constructive for prolongeddrug release in the stomach to get better the bioavailability and abridged the dose frequency. Optimized floating tablets showed n o significant changes in the physicalappearance, drug content, total buoyancy time, and also in vitro dissolution pattern afterstorage at 40°C/75% relative humidity for 3 months. Key words: Gastro retentive drug delivery system, lafutidine, stability studi es, in - vitro drug release study