Formulation Development And Characterization Of Gelucire Beads Of Antihypertensive Drug For Floating Drug Delivery System

Abstract

Oral delivery is the preferred method for drug administration due to its ease of use, low cost, and high patient compliance. However, conventional oral drug delivery systems have drawbacks such as quick gastric emptying time and low bioavailability due to incomplete absorption and degradation in the gastrointestinal tract. To address these issues, controlled drug delivery systems have been developed, such as the gastroretentive drug delivery system. This system allows dosage forms to remain in the stomach for extended periods without impacting gastric transit time. Various types of polymers have been used to distribute drugs to specific regions in the gastrointestinal tract. Gelucire, a preferred excipient in these systems, is derived from mono, di, and triglyceride mixtures of polyethylene glycol fatty acid esters. Ramipril, an inhibitor of the long-acting non-sulfhydryl angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), is an extremely lipophilic active antihypertensive medication with 28-35% absolute bioavailability.