The cucurbit[n]urils (CB[n])
belong to the field of relatively young supramolecules which act as
containers for a large variety of guests and are being explored extensively
for their numerous biomedical applications. This includes drug formulation
and delivery, controlled drug release, photodynamic therapy, sensing
for bioanalytical purposes, etc. These supramolecular host–guest
systems have distinctive recognition properties and have successfully
been shown to enhance the in vitro and in
vivo utility of various chemotherapeutic agents. The CB[n]s are tailored to optimize their application in payload
delivery and diagnostics and in lowering the toxicity of existing
drugs. This review has listed the recent studies on working mechanisms
and host–guest complexation of the biologically vital molecules
with CB[n] and highlighted their implementation in
anticancer therapeutics. Various modifications in CB-drug inclusion
compounds like CB supramolecular nanoarchitectures along with application
in photodynamic therapy, which has shown potential as targeted drug
delivery vehicles in cancer chemotherapy, have also been discussed.
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