Polyurethanes as New Excipients in Nail Therapeutics

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Materials Science

Background:

• Onychomycosis affects 15% of the population, causing significant discomfort.
• Topical treatments are preferred over oral antifungals due to toxicity concerns.
• Conventional topical formulations like creams have poor drug delivery to nail infections.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate polyurethane (PU) as a polymer for antifungal nail lacquer formulations.
• To assess the impact of PU concentration on nail lacquer properties and efficacy.
• To investigate the delivery of terbinafine hydrochloride (TH) and ciclopirox olamine (CPX) using PU nail lacquers.

Main Methods:

• Formulation of nail lacquers using varying concentrations of a polyurethane polymer.
• Assessment of *in vitro* drug release and permeation studies.
• Evaluation of antifungal activity against onychomycosis pathogens.
• Analysis of nail plate properties after lacquer application.

Main Results:

• The nail lacquer with the lowest PU concentration (10%) demonstrated superior *in vitro* drug release, permeation, and antifungal activity.
• PU-based nail lacquers improved nail plate smoothness and uniformity.
• Reduced nail porosity was observed, contributing to enhanced therapeutic effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• Polyurethane-based nail lacquers show significant promise for topical antifungal drug delivery in onychomycosis treatment.
• Optimized PU concentration is crucial for maximizing the efficacy of nail lacquer formulations.
• These novel formulations offer improved drug delivery and patient compliance for nail infections.