The Many Faces of Cyclodextrins within Self-Assembling Polymer Nanovehicles: From Inclusion Complexes to Valuable...

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Pharmaceutical Sciences

Background:

• Chemotherapeutic agents often exhibit poor water solubility and low tumor selectivity, limiting their efficacy.
• Hydrophilic therapeutics such as nucleic acids and proteins face challenges with bioavailability and cellular uptake.
• Current drug delivery systems struggle to achieve desired therapeutic concentrations at target sites.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in cyclodextrin (CD)-based self-assembled nanostructures for controlled therapeutic release.
• To highlight the benefits of hybrid amphiphilic CD nanosystems in drug delivery applications.
• To provide insights into the roles, challenges, and future prospects of CDs as drug nanocarriers.

Main Methods:

• Exploration of synthetic plasticity and derivatization of cyclodextrins.
• Formation of nano-assemblies with hydrophobic/hydrophilic domains and therapeutic payloads.
• Analysis of hybrid amphiphilic CD nanosystems in comparison to individual components.

Main Results:

• Cyclodextrins can be engineered into nano-sized self-assemblies for controlled drug release.
• Hybrid amphiphilic CD nanosystems demonstrate superior performance compared to individual CDs or polymers.
• These nanosystems facilitate the delivery of diverse therapeutic molecules, including challenging ones like nucleic acids and proteins.

Conclusions:

• Cyclodextrin self-assemblies represent a promising platform for advanced drug nanocarriers.
• Engineered CDs offer enhanced control over drug release kinetics, timing, and localization.
• Future research directions include optimizing CD-based nanocarriers for improved therapeutic outcomes.