Sustained release gastroretentive tablet of metformin hydrochloride based on poly (acrylic acid)-grafted-gellan

Development of a gastroretentive sustained release tablet of metformin based on poly (acrylic acid)-grafted-gellan (PAAc-g-GG) is the main purpose of this study. At first, PAAc-g-GG was synthesized by microwave-promoted free radical initiation method using cerric (IV) ammonium nitrate (CAN) as redox initiator and characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR, DSC-TGA, ¹³C NMR, biodegradation and viscosity study. The synthetic parameters were optimized by 2³ full factorial design using Design Expert software. Acute oral toxicity and histological studies were also performed as per OECD guideline. Tablets were then prepared employing wet granulation method using PAAc-g-GG and evaluated for various physical characters, in vitro drug release, ex-vivo mucoadhesion and swelling. Compatibility between drug and excipients was checked by DSC and FTIR analysis. The F3 batch showed excellent mucoadhesion and sustained drug release over a period of 10h with dissolution similarity factor, f₂=77.43. Kinetic modeling unveiled Case-1 Fickian diffusion based drug release mechanism.