Formulation and evaluation of gastroretentive floating drug delivery system of dipyridamole

A multiple-unit floating alginate bead drug delivery system with prolonged stomach retention time was developed in this study. The floating alginate beads were prepared by ionic cross-linking method, using CaCO3 as the gas-forming agent. Over 92% of the beads remained floating after 9 h. In order to prepare sustained-release dosage forms of dipyridamole, the solid dispersion technique was applied using a blend of Eudragit L100 and Eudragit RLPO. Afterwards, the solid dispersions of dipyridamole were incorporated into the floating alginate beads. The drug release was modified by changing the ratio of Eudragit RLPO and Eudragit L100 in the solid dispersions. The in vivo results showed that the relative bioavailability of alginate beads was enhanced by approximately 2.52-fold compared with that of the commercial tablet. Therefore, our study illustrated the potential use of floating alginate beads combined with the solid dispersion technique for the delivery of acid-soluble compounds, such as dipyridamole.