A REVIEW OF UV CURABLE GEL FOR NAIL DISEASES

Nail diseases are common, cause significant distress and treatments are not much successful. The nail unit can be subjected to numerous disorders, some of which, for example , onychomycosis (fungal nail infection) and psoriasis , are often extremely painful, recalcitrant to treatment , and result in psychosocial and occupational consequences, reducing a person’s quality of life. Current treatments include topical and oral antifungals. Oral therapy has the inherent disadvantages of systemic adverse effects , drug interactions and contraindications . Topical therapy , on the other hand, has a very low success rate. But ,in comparison with all these therapies ,UV curable gel formulations could act as a drug depot on the nail plate. The formulations typically contain three major components: a urethane methacrylate based monomer (at 75- 85% w/w ) ,(meth)acrylate based monomer (at 15-25% w/w ) and a polymerisation photo initiator (at 1- 3% w/w ). Following application of the formulation on the nail plate surface , the nail is placed under a UVA lamp for approximately 2 minutes . The UVA lamp light initiates polymerisation and a glossy , cosmetically acceptable polymeric film is developed on the nail plate . The film has long residence on the nail plate and such a film could be used as an effective drug carrier to improve the topical therapy of nail diseases. Keywords: nail disease; topical therapy; UV curable gel; drug depot; UVA lamp