Floating Microspheres - An Excellent Approach for Gastric Retention

Background: The gastro-retentive system is one of the promising oral drug delivery system due to its ability to remain in the gastric region for a longer period. This helps in improving the bioavailability by increasing the solubility and reducing drug wastage.

Approach: Various approaches have been put forward to achieve the gastro-retentive property. Among them, floating (hollow) microsphere is the most prominent approach.

Findings: Hollow microspheres are spherical free flowing powders in the size range of 1-1000 μm without core. It is prepared using proteins or synthetic polymers. This buoyant system improves gastric retention, sustains the drug release, and hence reduces the fluctuations in plasma drug concentration.

Conclusion: This review presents an insight into recent advances in methods of fabrication, evaluation and applications of hollow microspheres as gastro-retentive drug delivery systems.