Rebamipide, an amino acid derivative of 2-(1H)-quinolinone, is used for mucosal protection, healing of gastroduodenal ulcers, and treatment of gastritis. The current research study aimed to develop novel gastro-retentive mucoadhesive microspheres of rebamipide using ionotropic gelation technique. Studies of micromeritic properties confirmed that microspheres were free flowing with good packability. The in vitro drug release showed the sustained release of rebamipide up to 99.23 ± 0.13% within 12 h whereas marketed product displayed the drug release of 95.15 ± 0.23% within 1 h. The release mechanism from microspheres followed the zero-order and Korsmeyer-Peppas (R2 = 0.915, 0.969), respectively. The optimized M12 formulation displayed optimum features, such as entrapment efficiency 97%, particle size 61.94 ± 0.11 µm, percentage yield 98%, swelling index 95% and mucoadhesiveness was 97%. FTIR studies revealed no major incompatibility between drug and excipients. SEM confirmed the particles were of spherical in shape. Optimized formulation (M12) were stable at 40°C ± 2°C/75% RH ± 5% RH for 6 months. In vivo studies were performed and kinetic parameters like Cmax, Tmax, AUC0-t, AUC0-∞, t1/2, and Kel were calculated. The marketed product Cmax (3.15 ± 0.05 ng/mL) was higher than optimized formulation (2.58 ± 0.03 ng/mL). The optimized formulation AUC0-t (15.25 ± 1.14 ng.hr/mL), AUC0-∞ (19.42 ± 1.24 ng.hr/mL) was significantly higher than that of marketed product AUC0-t (10.21 ± 1.26 ng.hr/mL) and AUC0-∞ (13.15 ± 0.05 ng.hr/mL). These results indicate an optimized formulation bioavailability of 2.5-fold greater than marketed product.
