Preparation and in vitro characterization of a non-effervescent floating drug delivery system for poorly soluble drug, glipizide.

The aim of the present study was to formulate a non-effervescent floating drug delivery system of glipizide, a poorly water soluble drug. The solubility of glipizide was initially enhanced using a solid dispersion (SD) strategy with the help of hydrophilic carriers such as poloxamer, cyclodextrin, and povidone. The optimized core material/SD was further formulated into non-effervescent floating tablets (NEFT) by using matrix ballooning inducers, such as crospovidone and release retarding agents including HPMC and PEO. Poloxamer-based solid dispersions prepared by a solvent evaporation technique showed the highest dissolution rate (1 : 10 drug to carrier ratio) compared with all other dispersions. NEFT were evaluated for all physico-chemical properties including in vitro buoyancy, dissolution, and release rate. All of the tablets were found to be within pharmacopoeial limits and all of the formulations exhibited good floating behavior. The formulations (F2 and F3) were optimized based on their 12 h drug retardation with continuous buoyancy. The optimized formulations were characterized using FTIR and DSC and no drug and excipient interaction was found. In-vitro buoyancy and dissolution studies showed that non-effervescent floating drug delivery systems provide a promising method of achieving prolonged gastric retention time and improved bioavailability of glipizide.