Cyclodextrins in drug delivery: applications in gene and combination therapy

Abstract

Gene therapy is a powerful tool against genetic disorders and cancer, targeting the source of the disease rather than just treating the symptoms. While much of the initial success of gene delivery relied on viral vectors, non-viral vectors are emerging as promising gene delivery systems for efficacious treatment with decreased toxicity concerns. However, the delivery of genetic material is still challenging, and there is a need for vectors which show improved targeting, further reduced toxicity, and controlled release. In this article, we highlight current work in gene therapy which utilizes the cyclic oligosaccharide molecule cyclodextrin (CD). With a number of unique abilities, such as hosting small molecule drugs, acting as a linker or modular component, reducing immunogenicity, and disrupting membranes, CD is a valuable constituent in many delivery systems. Further, it shows great promise in combination therapies due to the ease of assembling macromolecular structures and wide variety of chemical derivatives, which allow for customizable delivery systems and simultaneous co-delivery of therapeutics. The use of combination and personalized therapies can result in improved patient health -modular systems, such as those which incorporate CD, are more conducive to these therapy types.

Cyclodextrins in Antiviral Therapeutics and Vaccines

“…More importantly, cyclodextrins help in making these systems more effective in the cell transfection phase because they are able to interfere with cellular membranes and increase their permeability. [ 101 ] These carriers are typically cyclodextrin–polyethyleneimine conjugated polymers (CD–PEI) that can be adapted to deliver different kinds of nucleic acid chains by customising the polyethyleneimine fragments ( Figure 8 ).…”

History of cyclodextrin-based polymers in food and pharmacy: a review

“…A comprehensive review on cyclodextrin-based carriers for delivery of chemotherapeutic cytotoxic anticancer drugs Gonzalez-Gaitano et al (2016) Drug carrier systems based on cyclodextrin supramolecular assemblies and polymers: present and perspectives Mejia-Ariza et al (2017) Cyclodextrin-based supramolecular nanoparticles for biomedical applications Peng et al (2017) Polymeric nanocarriers based on cyclodextrins for drug delivery: host-guest interaction as stimuli responsive linker Adeoye and Cabral-Marques (2017) Cyclodextrin nanosystems in oral drug delivery: A mini review Alvarez-Lorenzo et al (2017) Cyclodextrins as versatile building blocks for regenerative medicine Fenyvesi et al (2019) Applications of steroid drugs entrapped in cyclodextrins Topuz and Uyar (2019) Electrospinning of cyclodextrin functional nanofibres for drug delivery applications Yao et al (2019) Cyclodextrin-based polymer materials: From controlled synthesis to applications Zhang et al (2019) Cyclodextrin-based delivery systems for cancer treatment Ciesielska et al (2020) Biomedical application of cyclodextrin polymers crosslinked via dianhydrides of carboxylic acids Haley et al (2020) Cyclodextrins in drug delivery: applications in gene and combination therapy Qie et al (2020) Advances in cyclodextrin polymers and their applications in biomedicine Seidi et al (2020) Polycyclodextrins: synthesis, functionalization, and applications Tian et al (2020a) Cyclodextrin-based delivery systems for chemotherapeutic anticancer drugs: a review Tian et al (2020b) Cyclodextrin as a magic switch in covalent and non-covalent anticancer drug release systems Wankar et al (2020) Recent advances in host-guest self-assembled cyclodextrin carriers: implications for responsive drug delivery and biomedical engineering Sofiane et al (2020) The use of cyclodextrin or its complexes as a potential treatment against the 2019 novel coronavirus: a mini-review…”

Applications of Macrocyclic Host Molecules in Immune Modulation and Therapeutic Delivery

“…In sum, macrocycles are effective in enhancing gene delivery, due to their ability to reduce the cytotoxicity of cationic polymeric vectors, increase membrane permeability, and contribute to targeted or responsive delivery systems. Further developments in these areas have been recently reviewed (Xiao et al, 2019a ; Haley et al, 2020 ).…”