Cyclodextrin-Based Delivery Systems for Anticancer Drugs

Dear Colleagues,

Malignant diseases are one of the most powerful diseases of the current century, representing a major cause of death globally. Even if anticancer research and drug discovery continuously increase the therapeutic arsenal, chemotherapy has many drawbacks due to poor bioavailability, side effects, drug resistance, and target specificity.

Besides the screening of synthetic molecules with anticancer potential, natural compounds represent a valuable alternative to the limitations of conventional chemotherapy. Natural compounds also face drawbacks that limit their utilization, such as poor water solubility, low dissolution rate, bioavailability, and increased sensitivity to degradation and inactivation. 

Cyclodextrins are, nowadays, considered valuable pharmaceutical excipients due to their ability to partly or completely include a drug molecule, thus improving the unfavorable physicochemical and the biological properties of the hosted molecule. Moreover, the protection and especially the controlled release of various organic compounds are carried out almost exclusively by encapsulation.

Currently, the development of improved formulations based on natural and synthetic compounds with increased bioavailability and stability, along with dose reduction and the reduction in adverse effects, represent topical issues.

This Special Issue will bring together recent data regarding the role of cyclodextrins in developing improved delivery systems containing anticancer compounds. We invite reviews, original research, meta-analyses, short communications, and study designs on all aspects of the influence of cyclodextrin complexation on the physicochemical and biological properties of anticancer drugs.

Dr. Cristina Trandafirescu
Dr. Iulia Pinzaru
Dr. Denisa Laura Cîrcioban
Guest Editors

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