Abstract

Lafutidine is one of the newly developed powerful competitive second-generation H2 receptor antagonists. It is selectively absorbed from the upper part of the GIT, and it is stable in the gastric environment. The current study proposes developing an intragastric floating microballoon novel drug delivery system for the H2 receptor antagonist, lafutidine to release the drug into the stomach in a sustained manner for an extended period to treat peptic ulcer disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and Zollinger- Ellison syndrome. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and ethyl cellulose-based low- density floating microballoons were fabricated using the emulsion solvent diffusion method by varying the drug concentration and applying different variables like emulsifying agent concentration, polymer ratios, stirring speed and temperature, etc. The microballoon formulations were evaluated for percentage yield, particle size (µm), drug entrapment efficiency, and percentage buoyancy. According to the findings, the floating microballoons of lafutidine demonstrated good gastroretentive floating ability with expected drug bioavailability