Table 1.

Amorolfine vs. ciclopirox lacquers: comparison of properties

Parameter	Amorolfine	Ciclopirox
Chemical structure	Morpholine derivative – phenyl-morpholine	Pyridine derivative – hydroxy pyridines
Transungual drug delivery system used in the lacquer	Water-insoluble polymers	Water-insoluble polymers, hydroxypropyl-chitosan (HPC)
Mechanism of action	Inhibits sterol synthesis in fungal cell wall, depletion of ergosterol and accumulation of non-typical spherical sterols	Decrease in activity of metal-dependent enzymes which affects ion transport through cytoplasmatic membranes
Antifungal activity	Dermatophytes (Trichophyton spp., Microsporum spp., Epidermophyton spp.), yeasts (Candida spp., Cryptococcus spp., Malassezia spp.), molds (Alternaria spp., Hendersonula spp., Scopulariopsis spp.), other pathogenic fungi (Cladosporium, Coccidioides, Histioplasma, Sporothrix)	Dermatophytes (Trichophyton spp., Microsporum spp., Epidermophyton floccosum), yeasts (Candida spp., Malassezia furfur, Cryptococcus neoformans, Sacchromyces cerevisiae), molds (Scopulariopsis brevicaulis, Aspergillus spp., Fusarium solani)
Antibacterial activity	Only Actinomyces	Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp.), Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia spp., Proteus spp., Klebsiella spp., Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Bacillus spp., Pseudomonas spp.), Mycoplasma
Anti-inflammatory activity	None	Present