FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF ENCAPSULATED FLOATING BEADS CONTAINING THE FAMOTIDINE AS A MODEL DRUG

The aim of this research work was to formulate and optimize a floating drug delivery system of famotidine. In the present study, preparation of famotidine floating beads, in-vitro evaluation of Floating Drug Delivery System (FDDS), prediction of the release, and optimization of polymers ratio to match target release profile was investigated. An attempt was made to prepare oil entrapped floating beads of famotidine prepared by inotropic gelation method using Sodium alginate (SA), Tamarind seed powder (TSP) where SA & TSP ratio was 95: 5 respectively, Span 80 with Calcium Chloride as curing agent and various concentration of Sunflower oil as a floating agent. Size of all the beads was found spherical and uniform and percentage yield of all formulation was found approximate 85%. It was observed that famotidine release from uncoated beads in a considerable "burst" during the first 30 min, due to rapid water ingress and creation of aqueous channels, which suggested that drug release was dependent on dissolution and diffusion of the drug through the polymer matrix. Buoyancy study showed that all formulation was floating, except FB-2, FB-6 and FB-11. The results showed that beads formulated with mixture of SA and TSP (FB-1) showed the highest drug release compared to other formulations.