Research Projects

Onychomycosis (OM) is a common fungal infection affecting nails, causing discoloration, thickening, hardening, and crumbling. The prevalence of OM is increasing, with dermatophytes and non-dermatophytes molds being the main causative organisms. Many topical antifungals for OM treatment struggle with poor penetrability, limiting their application. Efinaconazole, an FDA-approved novel topical azole, has shown promising results against dermatophytes and non-dermatophytes, showing greater efficacy than previously reported drugs. Efinaconazole inhibits the ergosterol biosynthetic pathway, disrupting fungal cell membranes and increasing cell membrane permeability. However, it falls under BCs class 4 due to its low solubility and permeability, and suffers from low bioavailability. Currently, it is available as a 10% topical solution in the market. To overcome the problems associated with conventional drug delivery systems, a novel vesicular system, proposomes, is proposed. Propylene glycol (PG) containing non-invasive drug delivery carriers enable drugs to penetrate deep into the skin layers and systemic circulation. These vesicular systems are widely used for transdermal drug delivery and allow for controlled drug release rates over an extended period. Propylene glycol solubilizes stratum corneum lipids, enhancing skin permeation of drugs. Proposomes loaded with efinaconazole are proposed to enhance drug penetration for effective delivery in onychomycosis treatment.