Novel Polypseudorotaxanes Hydrogel based Nail Lacquer of Efinaconazole for Transungual Drug Delivery

Abstract

Aim: Due to the various drawbacks associated with current treatment therapy of onychomycosis, the main aim was to develop thermosensitive hydrogels and thermosensitive polypseudorotaxanes hydrogels-based nail lacquer for transungual delivery of Efinaconazole for management of onychomycosis. The objective is to enhance the permeation and retention of the drug in the nails and improve patient compliance. Method: Poloxamer 407 and Hydroxy Propyl -β- cyclodextrin was used to prepare the nail lacquers. 2-mercaptoethanol was added as a penetration enhancer to improve the penetration of the drug across the nail plate. The formulations were optimized by varying the concentration of poloxamer and water:ethanol ratio and evaluated based on basis of drying time, sol-gel transition temperature, ex vivo drug release and viscosity. The optimized formulation was further evaluated for pH, water resistance, non-volatile content, drug content, blush test, spreadability, and stability studies. Results: The increase in ethanol concentration, reduction in poloxamer proportion lead to reduction in lacquer stickiness thus, improving the lacquer drying time and penetration. The polypseudorotaxanes improved the permeation profile of the drug in comparison to the marketed nail lacquer. The presence of 2-mercaptoethanol also contributed in transungual delivery of Efinaconazole. Conclusion:: The polypseudorotaxanes based nail lacquer with the incorporation of penetration enhancer was able to achieve a high rate of drug penetration and retention, thus supporting the potential use of aqueous based-nail lacquer in transungual drug delivery for the onychomycosis treatment.

Understanding the drug delivery through nails: a comprehensive review

“…Drugcontaining nail lacquers are relatively recent formulations known as transungual delivery systems. Table 3 summarises a variety of nail lacquer-based marketed formulations 95 . These formulations comprise the drug to be administered and are organic solutions of a film-forming polymer.…”

Printing Drugs onto Nails for Effective Treatment of Onychomycosis

“…Hence, improved topical treatment is essential. Current research is ongoing into different drug carriers and topical formulations [45][46][47][48][49], including nail patches [50], UV-curable gels [51][52][53], lacquers [54][55][56], films [57,58] and solutions [59][60][61]. However, many of these applications do not allow for the user to precisely control the dose, or to easily apply multiple drugs.…”