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Development of ciclopirox nail lacquer with enhanced permeation and retention

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Abstract

Onychomycosis is a prevailing disease caused by fungal infection of nails that mostly affects athletes and the elderly. Ciclopirox is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the topical treatment of onychomycosis. However, the desired penetration of ciclopirox into the nail bed has not been achieved via topical application for efficient treatment. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to enhance ciclopirox permeation and retention in nail by the development of a new nail lacquer formulation. We screened the effects of different solvents, alkalizing agents, and permeation enhancers on the permeation of bovine hooves by ciclopirox and its retention in human nail clippings. The results suggest that isopropyl alcohol, potassium hydroxide, and urea as the solvent, alkalizing agent, and permeation enhancer, respectively, improved the permeation of the ciclopirox nail lacquer formulation the most with high flux rates. Comparison of the final formulation and marketed product revealed enhanced retention of ciclopirox from our developed formulation in human nail clippings. Therefore, our newly developed nail lacquer may be a potentially effective formulation for the treatment of onychomycosis in humans.

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Acknowledgments

This research study was supported by the Yeungnam University in 2015.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. College of Pharmacy, Yeungnam University, 214-1 Dae-dong, Gyeongsan, 712-749, South Korea

      Raj Kumar Thapa, Ju Yeon Choi, Toe Gyung Go, Chul Soon Yong & Jong Oh Kim

    2. Dong-A ST Research Institute, Pharmaceutical Product Research Laboratories, Yongin, 449-905, South Korea

      Min Hyung Kang, Sang Duk Han, Joon-Ho Jun & Mi Won Son

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    1. Raj Kumar Thapa
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    2. Ju Yeon Choi
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    3. Toe Gyung Go
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    4. Min Hyung Kang
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    9. Jong Oh Kim
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    Correspondence to Jong Oh Kim.

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    Conflict of interest

    Kang MH, Han SD, Jun JH, and Son MW are employees of Dong-A ST Research Institute while all the other authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

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    R. K. Thapa and J. Y. Choi have contributed equally.

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    Thapa, R.K., Choi, J.Y., Go, T.G. et al. Development of ciclopirox nail lacquer with enhanced permeation and retention. Arch. Pharm. Res. 39, 953–959 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12272-016-0774-0

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12272-016-0774-0

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