Abstract
Onychomycosis constitutes the most common fungal infection of the nail (skin beneath the nail bed) that affects the finger as well as toe nails. It is an infection that is initiated by yeasts, dermatophytes, and nondermatophyte molds. Nail lacquers are topical solutions intended only for use on fingernails as well as toenails and have been found to be useful in the treatment of onychomycosis. Thus, in the present review an attempt has been made to focus on the treatment aspects of onychomycosis and the ungual delivery of antifungals via nail lacquer. Several patents issued on nail lacquer till date have also been discussed. Penetration efficiency was assessed by several researchers across the human nail plate to investigate the potentiality of nail lacquer based formulations. Various clinical trials have also been conducted in order to evaluate the safety and efficacy of nail lacquers in delivering antifungal agents. Thus, it can be concluded that nail lacquer based preparations are efficacious and stable formulations. These possess tremendous potential for clinical topical application to the nail bed in the treatment of onychomycosis.
Highlights
Onychomycosis is described as a fungal infection affecting primarily finger and toe nails
Better antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger as compared to the commercial gel Better retention ability was observed for nanoemulsion based gel Effective formulations for ungual delivery, suggesting that liposome based poloxamer gel formulation could be a potential carrier for ungual drug delivery
Permeation coefficient from P407-based formulations was higher in comparison to the nail lacquer
Summary
Onychomycosis is described as a fungal infection affecting primarily finger and toe nails. Antifungals have been available in market in the form of cream, ointment, lotion, powder, and solutions These formulations require high concentration of active agents to be incorporated for Scientifica effective therapy because of their low efficacy. The development of a formulation for safe and effective topical delivery in the treatment of onychomycosis is still under infancy. Most of the conventionally used formulations are not adapted to the nail since they are readily removed by rubbing or washing [6] To overcome these barriers, ungual delivery can be opted for the delivery of drug across the nail plate. Medicated nail lacquer formulations have been developed for effective ungual drug delivery of antifungals to improvise the treatment of onychomycosis.
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