Gastroprotective Drug Delivery Systems: A Comprehensive Review of Mechanisms, Formulation Strategies, and Clinical Applications

Gastroprotective drug delivery systems (GRDDS) represent an innovative approach to overcome limitations of conventional oral drug delivery by prolonging gastric residence time and enabling controlled drug release in the upper gastrointestinal tract. This review examines various GRDDS approaches including floating systems, bio adhesive matrices, swelling systems, and combination strategies. GRDDS demonstrate significant advantages for drugs with narrow absorption windows, acid-labile compounds, and therapeutics requiring local gastric action. Floating systems utilizing natural polymers (HPMC, chitosan, sodium alginate) and synthetic polymers (Carbopol, ethyl cellulose) have shown commercial success with products like Metformin GR™ and Gabapentin GR. Clinical applications span neurological disorders, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases, and gastrointestinal therapeutics. Despite challenges including physiological variability and formulation complexity, GRDDS represent a mature technology with proven clinical efficacy for enhancing oral bioavailability and therapeutic outcomes. Future research should focus on patient-specific formulations and expanding applications to emerging therapeutic areas.