FLOATING DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM: IT’ CURRENT APPROACH AND ADVANCEMENT

Pharmaceutical industries have received much interest in pharmaceutical research in the area of oral drug delivery more over on Gastro retentive drug delivery system that is Floating Drug Delivery System (FDDS). The objective of this study to review on FDDS focusing on its current advancement and its future. FDDS is an approach to prolong gastric residence time, thereby targeting site-specific drug release in upper GI tract improving the oral sustained delivery of drug that have an absorption window in a particular region of the GI tract, thus ensuring optimal bioavailability. This manner may increase patient compliance and provides continuously controlled release administration of sparingly soluble drugs at the particular sites of absorption. FDDS have bulk density less than gastric fluids that have sufficient buoyancy to float over the gastric contents and remain in the stomach for longer duration of time without affecting gastric emptying rate. Floating dosage forms can be prepared as tablets, capsule by adding suitable ingredients with excipients like hydrocolloids, inert fatty materials and buoyancy increasing agents. Various categories of drugs like antacids, antidiabetic, antifungal and anticancer drugs are formulated into FDDS. FDDS have bulk density less than gastric fluids that have sufficient buoyancy to float over the gastric contents and remain in the stomach for longer duration of time. The recent advancement of FDDS is on physiological and formulation variables affecting gastric retention approaches to design single unit and multiple unit floating systems. Furthermore, recent innovations in pharmaceutical investigation will surely provide real prospects for establishment of novel and effective means in the development of FDDS. Keywords: Floating drug delivery system, Effervescence, Gastric residency time, Bioavailabilty