Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Applications of Cyclodextrins and Derivatives

Dear Colleagues,

Cyclodextrin research has had almost continuous progress for more than a hundred years, and in recent decades new ideas concerning pharmaceutical and biomedical applications have spread. The widely known pharmaceutical application of cyclodextrins is based on their efficient complexing ability to improve the solubility and bioavailability of poorly soluble small drug molecules. Indeed, to this day, complexation is one of the most important uses of cyclodextrins. On the other hand, recently, cyclodextrins have also been used for the formulation of large molecules, such as peptides and nucleic acids. Applying cyclodextrin derivatives including polymers, new cyclodextrin-based systems were developed for improved drug delivery. Despite the extensive research, complexation, and formulation with cyclodextrins has untapped potential.

Host–guest interaction is also the basis of their effects in biological systems, as they can interact with biomolecules. From this point of view, they are not inactive molecules and this ability can be used in biomedical applications. Great progress can be seen in the research of infectious diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and cholesterol-related neurodegenerative diseases. A milestone of the history of cyclodextrins is the approval of 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin as an orphan drug in the treatment of Niemann–Pick disease type C. Nevertheless, there are still many unresolved questions in the field of biological activities and the behavior of cyclodextrins at different levels of biological systems. Effects on cellular organelles, cells, barriers, tissues, and organs must be studied to reveal and understand their full spectrum of actions.

This Special Issue will collect the latest innovative researches in the field of pharmaceutical and biomedical applications of cyclodextrins. The highlighted topics are closely related to each other and to understand the effects of cyclodextrins and reveal their potentials these questions must be examined in a complex manner. Reviews, original research articles, and short communications will be considered.

Dr. Ferenc Fenyvesi
Dr. Judit Váradi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceutics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.