Superporous Hydrogel: A Novel Approach for Safe Gastroretentive Drug Delivery System

Abstract

Superporous hydrogel are developed initially as novel drug delivery system to retain dosage form in upper gastrointestinal tract, and absorbs drug in gastric medium. The generation-based classification of superporous hydrogel is covered in this review. The hydrophilic polymer networks formed by the molecular entanglements which absorb water up to thousands of times to their dry weight. These systems swells quickly and resist in an extremely acidic condition in stomach. This hydrogel is instantly swell through capillary force which is driven by absorption of water through an open porous structure. This system provides better solubility and bioavailability by targeting the specific site of absorption.  The conventional superporous hydrogels have the poor mechanical strength which is overcome by developing the second superporous hydrogel generation composites and the third-generation superporous hydrogel hybrids. This article has mainly focused on the classification, techniques, drug loading, research papers, characterizations and applications of superporous hydrogel. Keywords: Gastric retention, Cross-linking, Superporous hydrogel, Swelling rate, Elastic property, Hydrophilic polymer networks.