In Vitro and In Vivo Test Methods for the Evaluation of Gastroretentive Dosage Forms

More than 50 years ago, the first concepts for gastroretentive drug delivery systems were developed. Despite extensive research in this field, there is no single formulation concept for which reliable gastroretention has been demonstrated under different prandial conditions. Thus, gastroretention remains the holy grail of oral drug delivery. One of the major reasons for the various setbacks in this field is the lack of predictive in vitro and in vivo test methods used during preclinical development. In most cases, human gastrointestinal physiology is not properly considered, which leads to the application of inappropriate in vitro and animal models. Moreover, conditions in the stomach are often not fully understood. Important aspects such as the kinetics of fluid volumes, gastric pH or mechanical stresses have to be considered in a realistic manner, otherwise, the gastroretentive potential as well as drug release of novel formulations cannot be assessed correctly in preclinical studies. This review, therefore, highlights the most important aspects of human gastrointestinal physiology and discusses their potential implications for the evaluation of gastroretentive drug delivery systems.