Cyclodextrin-based molecules as hosts in the formation of supramolecular complexes and their practical applications—A review

The excellent biocompatibility and unique inclusion capability as well as powerful functionalization capacity of cyclodextrins and their derivatives make them especially attractive for engineering novel functional materials for many applications. There has been increasing interest recently to fabricate supramolecular systems based on cyclodextrin materials. This review focuses on state-of-the-art and recent advances in the construction of cyclodextrin-based assemblies and their practical applications in many fields like gene therapy, chemotherapy, antimicrobial drug delivery, metal extraction, food industry, etc. Supramolecular self-assembly materials based on cyclodextrins are also discussed in this review. The fabrication technologies of supramolecular systems including nanoplatforms and hydrogels as well as their applications in nanomedicine and pharmaceutical sciences are highlighted. In the end, the future directions of this field are discussed.