In vitro efficacy of tavaborole topical solution, 5% after penetration through nail polish on ex vivo human fingernails

Abstract

Background: Topical antifungal treatments for onychomycosis are applied to clean, unpolished nails for 48 weeks or longer. Patients often wish to mask their infection with nail polish yet there is no evidence to suggest antifungal efficacy in the presence of nail polish.

Objective: To determine if tavaborole retains the ability to penetrate the nail plate and inhibit fungal growth in the presence of nail polish.

Method: Tavaborole was applied to human fingernails painted with 2 or 4 coats of nail polish, and unpainted nails in an ex vivo model. Nails were mounted on TurChub^® chambers seeded with Trichophyton rubrum and allowed to incubate for 7 days. Antifungal activity was assessed by measuring zones of inhibition.

Results and conclusion: Tavaborole exhibited antifungal activity in all experimental groups. The zones of inhibition of T. rubrum for all experimental groups (2 or 4 coats of polish, unpolished) were greater than infected controls (polished and unpolished), p_s < .001. Tavaborole penetrates polished nails and kills T. rubrum in this ex vivo model.

Keywords:

• Antifungal
• onychomycosis
• Tinea unguium
• treatment

Disclosure statement

The authors were fully responsible for the content, editorial decisions, and opinions expressed in the current article. No author received an honorarium related to the development of this manuscript. A. K. Gupta and T. C. Vlahovic are consultants for Sandoz. K. A. Foley is an employee of Mediprobe Research Inc. S. Hall and N. Gellings Lowe are employees of Sandoz, a Novartis Division. R. Turner and M. Brown are employees of MedPharm Ltd.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by Sandoz, a Novartis Division.