128 Research Article FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF OIL ENTRAPPED FLOATING ALGINATE BEADS OF RANITIDINE HYDROCHLORIDE DURGA JAISWAL *1 , ARUNDHATI BHATTACHARYA 1 , INDRANIL KUMAR YADAV 2 , HARI PRATAP SINGH 2 , DINESH CHANDRA 2 AND D.A. JAIN 2 1 DIVISION OF PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH, RAJ KUMAR GOEL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, GHAZIABAD-201003, INDIA. 2 INSTITUTE OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES AND RESEARCH CENTRE, BHAGWANT UNIVERSITY, AJMER-305001, INDIA. E-mail: durga.pharma29@yahoo.com, neel_pharma@rediffmail.com Ph: +91937934645, +919369171274 ABSTRACT The objective of this investigation is to develop a multi-unit gastroretentive sustained release dosage form of a water soluble drug, Ranitidine hydrochloride, from a completely aqueous environment avoiding the use of any organic solvent, which could cure peptic ulcer more efficiently by releasing the drug especially in stomach and also for a prolonged duration of time. A new emulsion gelation technique was used to prepare emulsion gel beads using sodium alginate as the polymer. The gel beads containing oil was prepared by gently mixing or homogenizing oil and water phase containing sodium alginate which was then extruded in to calcium chloride solution. The effects of factors like concentration of oil, curing time, drug: polymer ratio, alginate: pectin ratio and curing agent on drug entrapment efficiency, floating lag time, morphology and drug release were studied. Minimizing the curing time of beads leaded to enhanced drug entrapment efficiency. The use of sodium alginate and combinations of sodium alginate and pectin were used to study the effect on the sustaining property of the formed beads. It was found that sodium alginate was not sufficient to sustain the drug release at gastric pH. Instead of it, appropriate combination of alginate and pectin could provide the sustain release of drug. The results show that these beads can entrap even a water soluble drug as Ranitidine hydrochloride in sufficient amount and also can successfully deliver the drug in stomach for a prolong duration of time without using any organic solvent and any time consuming step in the preparation. Keywords: Floating Beads, Ranitidine hydrochloride, Floating Drug Delivery. INTRODUCTION A drug that is released from a dosage form in a controlled manner in the stomach will empty together with fluids and will have the whole surface area of the small intestine available for absorption 1 . These considerations have lead to the development of oral controlled gastro retentive dosage forms possessing gastric retention capabilities. Thus Gastroretentive dosage forms, i.e. those designed to exhibit a prolonged gastric residence time (GRT), have been a topic of interest in terms of their potential for controlled drug delivery 2,3,4,5 . Gastro retentive systems can remain in the gastric region for several hours and hence significantly prolong the gastric residence time of drugs 6,7 . Such retention systems are important for drugs that are degraded in the intestine or for drugs like antacids or certain antibiotics, enzymes that should act locally in the stomach 8 . If drug is poorly soluble in intestine due to alkaline pH and then its retention in gastric region may increase the solubility before they are emptied, resulting in increased bioavailability 9 . Such systems are more advantageous in improving G.I. absorption of drugs with narrow absorption windows as well as for controlled release of the drugs having site-specific absorption limitation. Retention of drug delivery system in stomach prolongs over all G.I. transit time, thereby resulting in improved bioavailability for some drugs 6,10 . International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vol. 1, Suppl 1, Nov.-Dec. 2009