Famotidine (FAM) is a potent blocker of histamine H2 receptors that is widely used to prevent and treat peptic ulcers. Very low oral bioavailability (40%–50%) has been reported due to its gastric degradation and poor solubility, which limits its clinical applicability. FAM-loaded nanosponges (NSs) were formulated using the emulsion solvent evaporation method to increase their therapeutic efficacy and characterized for percentage yield, entrapment, particle size distribution, and in vitro drug release. The optimized formulation showed a particle size of 204.88 nm with entrapment efficiency of 66.59% and sustained drug release of 76.75% ± 0.68% for up to 12 hours. In vivo pharmacokinetic study showed that mean Cmax and AUC0–12 in the group administered with NS3 was 1.78 and 1.70 folds higher than the group administered with pure drug, which showed improved oral bioavailability of FAM when loaded into NSs. Moreover, in animals administered with optimized FAM-loaded NSs, the ulcer index was found to be 5.77% ± 0.69% in comparison to 19.23% ± 0.82% in the group administered with FAM solution and 28.72% ± 0.97% in the ulcer control group. Results of the study suggested that NSs are a promising tool for enhancing the oral bioavailability of FAM in the treatment of peptic ulcers.
Key words: Famotidine, Bioavailability, Nanosponges, Peptic ulcer, Antiulcer activity
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