Introduction Molecular luminescence of analytes in organized media or in supramolecular complexes of cyclodextrinsThe photophysical and photochemical behaviour of molecules complexed to cyclodextrins (CD) is generally different from their behaviour in solution. The first observations in the field were qualitative and were related to the increased stabilisation of labile molecules, mostly drugs, against photodegradation when complexed to natural cyclodextrins [1]. Complexation by CD's was then the preferred subject for those involved in supramolecular chemistry and drug vectorisation techniques [2] as well as in separation techniques [3][4][5]. Stabilization of a molecule against photochemical degradation is still very important in the field of pharmaceutical sciences. A recent example is the stabilisation of promazine as an inclusion complex with β-cyclodextrin [6]. Other photochemists were attracted quite early to this field of research and initiated studies, which were mostly photophysical in nature [7,8]. The key observation was that the formation of supramolecular complexes of analytes with cyclodextrins (CDs) resulted in an increase of their fluorescence quantum yield or even in the appearance of room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) [9][10][11][12]. This enhancement has been used to increase the sensitivity and the selectivity in both luminescence and chromatographic techniques [13-15].We will not say more about RTP with CDs as the subject will be developed in another contribution in the same issue of this Journal. However RTP is also observed in the solubilization of analytes in micellar colloïdal solutions and this field will be reviewed hereunder.These properties have been used to develop analytical techniques, which combine the selectivity of complexation with an enhanced emission [16][17][18][19]. In this way an improvement in the detection limits is obtained in many separation techniques such as HPLC, capillary electrophoresis (CE) or planar chromatography. Furthermore these molecular interactions allow to reveal or to stabilize new molecular forms or to turn species which are normally non-emitting into luminescent ones. All these aspects are reviewed hereunder after a short summary on the nature of the intermolecular interactions, which lie at the heart of these effects.
Nature of the interactions between an analyte and a CD or a micelleWithout going into a thorough analysis of the origin of the interactions which exist between molecules in dense media which concern us here, it seems useful to recall the most important factors which should be taken into account when any type of luminescence, fluorescence or phosphorescence is involved.