Distribution of luliconazole in nail plate by in vitro permeation and efficacy by zone of inhibition test after treatment of luliconazole nail solution

Abstract

To clarify the character of luliconazole nail solution we have developed, we investigated luliconazole distribution and antifungal activity in nail plate. An in vitro permeation study which measured luliconazole concentration of sliced nail in the transverse direction after treatment of luliconazole nail solution was conducted to investigate for concentration dependency and the influences of nail thickness and treatment duration. When 0.2, 1, 3, 5, and 7.5% luliconazole nail solutions were used, luliconazole was detected in the all the layers of nail and there was a concentration gradient from the dorsal side to deep nail layers. The luliconazole concentration was almost same after 14-day treatment with 5% luliconazole nail solution when using nails of different thicknesses. And we confirmed that concentration of luliconazole into the nail was increased depending on the treatment duration. In zone of inhibition test after 14-day treatment, 5% luliconazole nail solution showed statistically high formation rate of zones of inhibition compared to 8% ciclopirox nail lacquer. Above all, these data suggested that 5% luliconazole nail solution has the potential to show high therapeutic effect for onychomycosis.