Floating Drug Delivery System (FDDS): An Overview

In recent years scientific and technological advancements have been made in research and development of oral drug delivery system. The reasons that the oral route achieved such popularity may be in part attributed to its ease of administration. Oral sustained drug delivery system is complicated by limited gastric residence time (GRTs) and unpredictable gastric emptying time, etc. To overcome these limitations, various approaches have been proposed to increased gastric residence of drug delivery systems in upper part of the gastrointestinal tract includes floating drug delivery system(FDDS), swelling or expanding systems, mucoadhesive systems, magnetic systems, modified-shape systems, high density system and other gastric emptying devices. Among these systems, FDDS have been most commonly used. These dosage forms can be retained in the stomach for prolonged period of time in a predetermined manner. Gastroretentive drug delivery technology is one of the promising approach for enhancing the bioavailability and controlled delivery of drugs that exhibit narrow absorption window. This manuscript highlights various developmental approaches, characterization aspects, potential drug candidates, advantages and applications of gastroretentive systems.