Microballoons- Novel Carriers in Gastro Retentive Drug Delivery

Gastroretentive drug delivery system is novel drug delivery systems which has an upper hand owing to its ability of prolonged retaining ability in the stomach and thereby increase gastric residence time of drugs and also improves bioavailability of drugs. An optimized level of drug bioavailability can be reached by judicious gastric retention. The floating drug delivery system is a novel approach for the same. It is needed for drugs that have an absorption window in the stomach or in the upper small intestine. This method does not affect the rate of gastric emptying over a prolonged time. Microballoons are emerging as the most promising gastro retentive floating drug delivery system as it overcome many limitations of conventional drug delivery. The review includes the classification, advantages, disadvantages, method of preparation and future aspects of microballoons.