Enhancement of the drug permeability by the nail swelling

There are two methods that are administration of oral formulation and application of topical agent for the treating onychomycosis. In this study, drug effectively was penetrated by chemical modification of nail for the topical treatment. For the modification of nail, penetration enhancer, acids, bases, mordants, reducing agents, oxidizing agents etc, have been used. And we calculated the nail swelling(%) by weighing the nails before and after being treated with penetration enhancer and expected the absorption of drug. Moreover we examined the drug absorptivity and changes of nail morphology, according to conducting the fluorescence staining and H&E staining. Finally, it is not easy that drug is penetrated through the nail. Because the nail is made of dead keratin multilayer which is tightly packed. Treated with some penetration enhancers used in this study, we confirmed the effective drug penetration by modifying the nail morphology.