Polishing the Therapy of Onychomycosis Induced by <i>Candida</i> spp.: Amphotericin B-Loaded Nail Lacquer

• Main Authors: Aleph M. S. Souza (Author), Renato C. A. Ribeiro (Author), Gleyse K. L. O. Pinheiro (Author), Francisco I. Pinheiro (Author), Wógenes N. Oliveira (Author), Luanda B. F. C. Souza (Author), André L. Silva (Author), Lucas Amaral-Machado (Author), Éverton N. Alencar (Author), Guilherme M. Chaves (Author), Eryvaldo S. T. Egito (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2021-05-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

Onychomycosis induced by <i>Candida</i> spp. has several limitations regarding its treatment. Nail lacquers display the potential to overcome these drawbacks by providing therapeutic compliance and increasing local drug bioavailability. Thus, this work aimed to produce a nail lacquer loaded with Amphotericin B (AmB) and evaluate its performance. The AmB-loaded nail lacquer was produced and preliminarily characterized. An AmB quantification method was developed. Stability, drug release, permeability and anti-<i>Candida</i> activity assays were conducted. The analytical method validation met the acceptance criteria. The drug loading efficiency was 100% (0.02 mg/g of total product), whereas the AmB stability was limited to ≅7 days (≅90% remaining). The nail lacquer displayed a drying time of 187 s, non-volatile content of around 20%<i>_w/w</i>, water-resistance of approximately 2%<i>_w/w</i> of weight loss and satisfactory in vitro adhesion. Moreover, the in vitro antifungal activity against different <i>Candida</i> spp. strains was confirmed. The AmB release and the ex vivo permeability studies revealed that AmB leaves the lacquer and permeates the nail matrix in 47.76 ± 0.07% over 24 h. In conclusion, AmB-loaded nail lacquer shows itself as a promising extemporaneous dosage form with remarkable anti-<i>Candida</i> activity related to onychomycosis.

Item Description

10.3390/pharmaceutics13060784
1999-4923