A systematic approach to the formulation of anti-onychomycotic nail patches

Nail patches have a potential role as drug carriers for the topical treatment of nail diseases such as onychomycosis, a common condition. O ur aim was therefore to develop a systematic and novel appr oach to the formulat ion of a simple drug -in-adhesive ungual patch. Twelve pressure -sensitive adhesives (PSAs), four backing membranes, two release liners and three drugs were screened for pharmaceutical and mechanical properties . From this initial screeni ng, two PSAs, two drugs, one backing membrane and one release liner were selected for further investigation. Patches were prepared by solvent -casting and characterised. The patches had good uniformity of thickness and of drug content, and showed minimal drug crystallisation during six month s of storage. Meanwhile, the d rug stability in the patch upon storage and patch adhesion to the nail was influenced by the nature of the drug, the PSA and the backing membrane . The reported methodology paves the way for a systematic formulation of ungual nail patches to add to the armamentarium of nail medicines . Further , from this work, the best patch formulation has been identified