FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF GASTRORETENTIVE FLOATING TABLET OF GLIMEPIRIDE

Floating tablets of Glimepiride were developed to prolong the gastric residence time and there by increased drug bioavailability. Diabetes condition influences the gastric emptying time which affect the absorption of the drug. Glimepiride was chosen as model drug because it has incomplete absorption due to less gastric residence time. The tablets were prepared by direct compression technique, using polymers such as HPMC K4M, HPMC K15M, HPMC K100M, Carbopol 974P, and Xanthan Gum. Tablets were evaluated for various parameters such as hardness, % friability, in-vitro drug release profile, swelling characteristics, floating capacity, and drug content. Gas generating system plays an important role in floating lag time and drug release. It was found that the best formulation for F5 was having the floating lag time of 20 sec and showed 98.62% drug release at the end of 12hours. Key Words: Glimepiride, Floating tablet, Direct compression technique,Non fickian diffusion,HPMC,Carbapol 974P, Xanthan Gum.