P a g e | 3932 THINK INDIA JOURNAL ISSN: 0971-1260 Vol-22-Issue-17-September-2019 Copyright ⓒ 2019Authors Clinical Evaluation of Antifungal Activity of Silver Nanoparticles for Treatment of Onychomycosis Amandeep Kaur 1 , Vivek Rai Sood 2 , Monica Gulati 3 , Sachin Kumar Singh 3 , Rajesh Kumar 3 , Dimple Sethi Chopra *1 1* Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab, India *2 Excel Health Care, Walia Enclave, Opposite Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab, India. 3 School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, * Corresponding author: Dr Dimple Sethi Chopra Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research, Punjabi University, Patiala. E. mail: dimplechopra1973@gmail.com Abstract Onychomycosis is the most common fungal infection of the nails. It results in discoloration and thickening of nails. Conventional methods of treatment include oral and topical use of antifungals like nystatin, amphotericin B, clotrimazole, fluconazole, terbinafine. Oral administration of antifungal agents requires prolonged use resulting in significant side effects. Topically applied antifungal agents fail to penetrate the nail plate. Onychomycosis does not resolve spontaneously and even if successfully treated, tend to recur. The other option left is removal of nail. The aim of the present study was to prepare silver nanoparticles using Ocimum sanctum leaf extract. The formation of silver nanoparticles (10-100nm) was confirmed by a strong absorption peak at 423nm. In vitro disk diffusion method showed a concentration dependent zone of inhibition with the prepared nanoparticles. In clinical studies [duly approved by the institutional Ethical Committee (IEC), IEC 068], 21 patients suffering from onychomycosis were enrolled. They were equally divided into control, standard and treatment group. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were kept as a minimum of 25% involvement of the nail area and maximum of 75% involvement of the nail area respectively. These studies revealed that 10-15% of infected area cleared upon topical application of cream (25 mg/cm 2 ) containing silver nanoparticles (0.04%w/w) on twice daily application for two weeks. Results were quite comparable with those of terbinafine antifungal cream. Supportive study involved taking a swab from the treated nails and mounting on a suitable nutrient media. Keywords: Onychomycosis, silver nanoparticles, Ocimum sanctum, antifungal activity, green synthesis