Transungual transport is hindered by the inherent small effective pore size of the nail even when it is fully hydrated. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of chemical enhancers thioglycolic acid (TGA), glycolic acid (GA), and urea (UR) on transungual transport and iontophoresis efficiency. In vitro passive and iontophoretic transport experiments of model permeants mannitol (MA), UR, and tetraethylammonium (TEA) ion across the fully hydrated, enhancer-treated and untreated human nail plates were performed in phosphate-buffered saline. The transport experiments consisted of several stages, alternating between passive and anodal iontophoretic transport at 0.1 mA. Nail water uptake experiments were conducted to determine the water content of the enhancer-treated nails. The effects of the enhancers on transungual electroosmosis were also evaluated. Nails treated with GA and UR did not show any transport enhancement. Treatment with TGA at 0.5 M enhanced passive and iontophoretic transungual transport of MA, UR, and TEA. Increasing the TGA concentration to 1.8 M did not further increase TEA iontophoresis efficiency. The effect of TGA on the nail plates was irreversible. The present study shows the possibility of using a chemical enhancer to reduce transport hindrance in the nail plate and thus enhance passive and iontophoretic transungual transport.

Transungual delivery of antifungal drugs is hindered by the low permeability of human nail plates, and as such, repeated dosing over a long period of time is necessary for effective treatment. The objectives of this study were to explore the possibilities of (a) enhancing the delivery of ciclopirox (CIC) across human nail plates and (b) sustaining CIC delivery from the larger resultant drug depot in the nail plates with constant voltage iontophoresis. In vitro passive and 9 V cathodal iontophoretic transport experiments of CIC across human nails were performed. Transungual CIC delivery with Penlac® was the control. The amounts of CIC released from and deposited in the nails were determined in drug release and extraction experiments, respectively. Iontophoresis increased the flux of CIC permeated across the nail approximately 10 times compared to passive delivery from the same formulation or from Penlac®. A significant amount of CIC was loaded into and released from the nails; the CIC concentrations were estimated to be above the minimum inhibitory concentrations of CIC for dermatophytic molds. The apparent transport lag time decreased in iontophoretic transport. The results demonstrate that iontophoresis was able to deliver an effective amount of CIC into and across the nails, and this suggests the feasibility of a constant voltage battery-powered transungual iontophoretic device.

Purpose-Transport across the human nail under hydration can be modeled as hindered transport across aqueous pore pathways. As such, nail permselectivity to charged species can be manipulated by changing the ionic strength of the system in transungual delivery to treat nail diseases. The present study investigated the effects of ionic strength upon transungual passive and iontophoretic transport.Methods-Transungual passive and anodal iontophoretic transport experiments of tetraethylammonium ion (TEA) were conducted under symmetric conditions in which the donor and receiver had the same ionic strength in vitro. Experiments under asymmetric conditions were performed to mimic the in vivo conditions. Prior to the transport studies, TEA uptake studies were performed to assess the partitioning of TEA into the nail.Results-Permselectivity towards TEA was inversely related to ionic strength in both passive and iontophoretic transport. The permeability and transference number of TEA were higher at lower ionic strengths under the symmetric conditions due to increased partitioning of TEA into the nail. Transference numbers were smaller under the asymmetric conditions compared with their symmetric counterparts.Conclusions-The results demonstrate significant ionic strength effects upon the partitioning and transport of a cationic permeant in transungual transport, which may be instrumental in the development of transungual delivery systems.

The effects of organic solvent systems on nail hydration and permeability have not been well studied. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the effects of binary aqueous organic solvent systems of ethanol (EtOH), propylene glycol (PPG), and polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG) on the barrier properties of nail plates. 3H–water, 14C–urea, and 14C–tetraethylammonium ions were the probes in the nail uptake and transport experiments to study the effect(s) of organic solvents on nail hydration and permeability. Gravimetric studies were also performed as a secondary method to study nail hydration and the reversibility of the nail after organic solvent treatments. Both ungual uptake and transport were directly related to the concentration of the organic solvent in the binary systems. Partitioning of the probes into and transport across the nail decreased with an increase in the organic solvent concentration. These changes corresponded to the changes in solution viscosity and the barrier properties of the nail. In general, the effects for PPG and PEG were more pronounced than those for EtOH. Practically, these results suggest that organic solvents in formulations can increase nail barrier resistivity.

The present study investigated the effects of pH on nail permeability and the transport of ions such as sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl) ions endogenous to nail and hydronium and hydroxide ions present at low and high pH, which might compete with drug transport across hydrated nail plate during iontophoresis. Nail hydration and passive transport of water across the nail at pH 1-13 were assessed. Subsequently, passive and iontophoretic transport experiments were conducted using 22 Na and 36 Cl ions under various pH conditions. Nail hydration was independent of pH under moderate pH conditions and increased significantly under extreme pH conditions (pH>11). Likewise, nail permeability for water was pH independent at pH 1-10 and an order of magnitude higher at pH 13. The results of passive and iontophoretic transport of Na and Cl ions are consistent with the permselective property of nail. Interestingly, extremely acidic conditions (e.g., pH 1) altered nail permselectivity with the effect lasting several days at the higher pH conditions. Hydronium and hydroxide ion competition in iontophoretic transport was generally negligible at pH 3-11 was significant at the extreme pH conditions studied.