Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
2084582 | European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics | 2008 | 6 Pages |
The aim of the study was to measure transonychial water loss (TOWL) in order to identify the extent of inter-individual, intra-individual inter-finger, inter-hand, and inter-day variabilities, and the influence of nail wetting, filing and varnishing on TOWL, with a view to determine parameters for the measurement of TOWL and its possible applications. Fingernail and toenail TOWL was measured using the condenser-chamber AquaFlux (Biox) and a specially designed Nail Adaptor supplied by Biox. A wide range of TOWL values (28–75 g/m2 h for fingernails and 26–48 g/m2 h for toenails) were found, with significant inter-individual variability. Intra-individual variability was lower; however, in the same individual, inter-finger, inter-hand/foot and inter-day variabilities were found, as well as a strong correlation between nail plate thickness and TOWL. Wetting the nails, even briefly, resulted in a significant rise in TOWL, which subsequently took much longer to return to control values. Filing the nail plate surface with a pharmaceutical file caused large increases in TOWL, whose profile (with number of filing strokes) was fairly different among individuals. As expected, nail varnish application reduced TOWL; the different extent of TOWL reduction by different varnishes suggests a potential use of TOWL measurements for product comparisons.