P. R. Basrur

Nails are the hard and durable epidermal appendages structurally horny in nature. Nail plate is responsible for the penetration of the drug across it. There are number of formulations with antifungal agents viz. gels, creams and oral antifungals for the treatment of transungual infections. Among these entire nail lacquers is a new concept in treating nail infections. These nail lacquers are effective as monotherapy in treatment of superficial, distal and subungual diseases. The main purpose of topical nail preparations is to protect the nail plate and enhance beauty of nails. The medicated lacquer preparations are generally used in fungal diseases. Use of this system avoids oral toxicity of anti fungal drugs. The main challenge associated with developing nail lacquers for the treatment of nail disorders is to deliver the active concentration to the site of infection which is often under nail. Penetration of topical antifungal through the nail plate requires a vehicle that is specially formulated for transungual delivery. In this article we have tried to emphasize on need to develop nail lacquer for a promising antifungal treatment. This field could be explored for the treatment of Psoriasis24 and Onychomycosis.24