In-vitro and In-vivo Characterization of Anti-Onychomycotic Transungual patches - A Systematic Review

Abstract

Transungual drug delivery systems distribute therapeutic agents through the human nail, a unique way for delivering medications for nail disorders caused by fungal infections. The human nail is a hydrophilic barrier made up of keratinized cells that cover the nail bed and matrix underneath. For nail diseases, the systemic or oral mode of drug delivery reduces the drug's potency at the site of action. To achieve longer contact duration at the application site, it is necessary to increase drug absorption to the nail unit. The primary goal of this review paper is to provide an overview of characterization studies on physicochemical characteristics; in-vitro and in-vivo approaches for transungual drug delivery to treat nail fungal infections using medicated nail patches. However, in order to acquire a wide overview of the characterization elements of this rapidly increasing multidisciplinary field of study, a number of articles and technical studies dealing with nail patches were investigated. It also included the methodology employed in the characterization studies, as well as the implications for process design.