5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) has been the most widely used drug for the chemotherapy of gastrointestinal cancer for many decades. The present investigation concerns the development and evaluation of single unit floating tablets of 5-FU which, after oral administration, are designed to prolong the gastric residence time, increase drug bioavailability and target the stomach cancer. A floating drug delivery system (FDDS) was developed using gas-forming agents, like sodium bicarbonate, citric acid and hydrocolloids, like hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and Carbopol 934P. The prepared tablets were evaluated in terms of their physical characteristics, in vitro release, buoyancy, buoyancy lag-time and swelling index. The formulations were optimized for the type of filler, like lactose, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and dicalcium phosphate (DCP) as well; different viscosity grades of HPMC and concentrations. The results of the in vitro release studies showed that the optimized formulation could sustain drug release for 24 h and remain buoyant for 16 h. When these dissolution profiles were subjected to various kinetic release investigations and it was found that the mechanism of drug release was predominantly diffusion with a minor contribution from polymeric relaxation.
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