Abstract
Active Er-laser drug delivery under the nail plate using a drug-impregnated gel containing liquid methylene blue clusters is demonstrated for the first time. The effect of the agar-agar concentration in the gel and the gel plate thickness on the number of Er:YLF-laser pulses required for formation of a through microhole in the gel and in the nail plate with subsequent active drug delivery is discussed. The influence of the laser pulse energy, the gel plate thickness, and the external pressure applied to the gel on the rate of delivery of methylene blue under the nail plate through a single microhole in it is investigated. It is shown that with a laser pulse energy of 4.0 ± 0.1 mJ, the delivery rate can reach 0.024 ± 0.004 mg/pulse.
Highlights
Onychomycosis and psoriasis of the nails are widespread diseases [1], and the search for effective methods of their treatment remains an important problem in dermatology
The smallest total number of pulses (NΣ = 34) necessary for the formation of a microhole in the gel and nail plate followed by active delivery was observed at the gel plate thickness of hg = 100 μm and agar-agar concentration of concentration of agar-agar (Caa) = 3%
At a laser pulse repetition rate of f = 30 Hz, the time required for active laser delivery of a methylene blue (MB) through a single microhole when using the gel will be ~1 s
Summary
Onychomycosis (fungal infection) and psoriasis of the nails are widespread diseases [1], and the search for effective methods of their treatment remains an important problem in dermatology. Treatment options for nail diseases include the use of systemic and local drugs or their combinations. The nail permeability can be improved by using permeation enhances such as methanol and dimethyl sulfoxide. In this case, the permeation coefficient reaches 5-7.5 × 10−8 cm/s, but still remains extremely low [13]. Microperforation of the nail can be carried out by various methods, including using a laser radiation [14,15,16,17,18]. The highest ablation rate of the nail plate was observed when exposed to Er:YAG or Er:YLF-laser radiation
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