A Novel System for The Treatment of Onychomycosis Through Transungal Route

Onychomycosis is a persistent fungal infection that affects both the nail plate and the nail bed. This condition is prevalent in older patients. Itraconazole is a widely used drug for the treatment of onchomycosis. In patients receiving various medication therapy regimens, oral antifungal therapy is typically linked to serious adverse effects that can exacerbate the illness. The study's current goal was to create a new itraconazole formulation that could be administered transungally. The optimized formulation was tested for a number of evaluation parameters, including drug release, entrapment efficiency, polydispersity index, morphology study, and particle size, and the results showed that the particle size, polydispersity index, and zeta potential were 277 nm, 0.265, and -30.6 mv, respectively. Itraconazole liposomes were made using the thin film hydration method to aid in drug penetration across the nail. The formulation's entrapment efficiency and drug release were determined to be 96% ±1.2 and 78% ±0.2, respectively. Physical characteristics, drug content, in-vitro drug release, antifungal activity, and in-vitro transungal permeation using goat hooves were all investigated for lyophilized liposomes of itraconazole integrated into a nail lacquer base. The drug content and drying time did not significantly change during the three months that the formulations were stable at 25°C and 60% relative humidity. It was determined that a promising delivery method for the treatment of onychomycosis is itraconazole-loaded liposomes in nail lacquer base. Keywords Onychomycosis, Transungal route, Itraconazole, Lyophilized liposomes, Nail lacquer, thin film hydration method