Published Paper Details:

Esomeprazole is a proton pump inhibitor used in the treatment of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), peptic or duodenal ulcers, Helicobacter pylori infection, hyperchlorhydria, and in conjunction with other medications that have propensity to cause gastric ulcers. The biological half-life of esomeprazole is 1 to 1.5 hours with an oral bioavailability of 50-60%. It is known that gastroretentive drug delivery system (GRDDS) can increase gastric residence time and thus can improve the bioavailability. In this study, co-processed excipient (Xanthan-Guar gum prepared by solvent evaporation technique) in different ratios is used to reap the combined physico-chemical benefits of the individual excipients. Esomeprazole GRDDS tablets are thus developed to overcome the shortcomings of the drug and provide better therapeutic efficacy. The prepared tablets are evaluated for various quality control parameters such as diameter, thickness, hardness, friability, weight variation test, disintegration test, buoyancy, in vitro drug dissolution behavior, and drug release kinetics. It is observed that the formulation F5 containing 1:3 ratio of Xanthan and Guar Gum co-processed excipient has desirable properties of fastest floating lag time (4.42 + 0.29 min) with a sustained drug release of up to 7 hours. This study proved that co-processed excipients can be used to provide hybrid benefits by providing additive effects on the overall drug performance in the body.