Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Pharmacy - Department of Pharmaceutics

Diabetes mellitus is one of the leading causes of death due to the persistent hyperglycemia that leads to potential complications. Lack of patients' adherence to their prescribed medication regimens, due to the requirement of frequent dosing, leads to failure of 40-50% of patients to manage their disease. Mitiglinide calcium (MTG) is the newest insulinotropic agent of the meglitinides group. MTG selectively stimulates pancreatic beta cells with higher affinity and consequently less unwanted side effects than other meglitinides. MTG is hydrophobic, mildly acidic drug and absorbed in the stomach with rapid onset and short duration of action (t1/2 is 1.2 h) so it is administered three times daily which decreases patients' compliance with a resultant lack of patients' adherence to their prescribed medication regimens. Gastroretentive drug delivery systems are aimed to retain in the stomach for a prolonged time where they can release their active constituent, thus enable sustained and prolonged delivery of the drug to the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract. So, the main objective of the study is to develop gastroretentive controlled delivery systems of MTG that is amenable to not only prolong the residence time of MTG in the stomach to improve its bioavailability but also to release the drug in a controlled release manner and reduce the need for multiple dosing with subsequent increase in patients compliance and their adherence to their chronic medication

Issued also as CD