DEVELOPMENT OF FUROSEMIDE FLOATING MICROBALLOONS: IN-VITRO AND IN-VIVO EVALUATION

The present investigation deals with the development and evaluation of floating microballoons of furosemide to extend the gastric residence time (GRT) and prolong the drug release. In the present work, floating micro balloons of furosemide were formulated using eudragit RS 100, eudragit S 100, and HPMC K₄M and ethylcellulose polymers by the solvent evaporation method. The prepared micro balloons were evaluated for their physicochemical properties, in-vitro drug release, and in-vitro buoyancy. The in-vitro release studies demonstrated that micro balloons of furosemide prepared using eudragit RS 100 along with eudragit S 100 in 1:1 ratio (FSDF10) shown the maximum amount of drug release; hence it is considered as the optimized formulation. The in-vitro release kinetics revealed that the optimized formulation releases the drug in zero-order manner based on the regression values of kinetic models. The optimized formulation was used for in-vivo evaluation. The in-vivo Radiographic study showed that the BaSo₄ loaded optimized formulation remained buoyant up to 5.5 h in the stomach. The in-vivo pharmacokinetic study conducted in healthy albino rabbits revealed that the oral bioavailability of optimized formulation was increased significantly when compared to the marketed formulations. The increased bioavailability may be due to the floating mechanism of the dosage form in the stomach for longer duration.