Raft forming system-an upcoming approach of gastroretentive drug delivery system

In recent era various technologies have been made in research and development of controlled release oral drug delivery system to overcome various physiological difficulties such as variation in gastric retention and emptying time. To overcome this drawback and to maximize the oral absorption of various drugs, novel drug delivery systems have been developed. Gastroretentive drug delivery system is facing many challenges which can be overcome by upcoming newly emerging approach i.e. raft forming system. The purpose of writing this review is to focus on recent development of stomach specific floating drug delivery system to circumvent the difficulties associated with formulation design. Various gastroretentive approaches that have been developed till now are also discussed. The present study provides valuable information & highlights advances in this raft forming system. This review attempts to discuss various factors like physiological factors, physicochemical factors and formulation factors to be considered in the development of the raft forming system. Different types of smart polymers used for their formulation have also been summarized. The review focuses on the mechanism, formulation and development of the raft forming system. This review also summarizes the studies to evaluate the performance and application of these systems. The study finally highlights advantages, disadvantages, and marketed preparation of the raft forming system.