This book presents the historical development of Cyclodextrins by scientists who have made outstanding contribution to the field. Cyclodextrins are safe, cage-like molecules that have found major applications in many industrial sectors such as medicine, food, agriculture, environment and chemistry.

Cyclodextrins in Pharmaceutics, Cosmetics, and Biomedicine covers a wide range of knowledge on cyclodextrins, from an overview of molecular and supramolecular aspects of cyclodextrin physicochemistry, to the latest outcomes in cyclodextrin use and future possibilities in the employment of these systems. This book focuses on the derivatives and physicochemical and biological properties of cyclodextrins, and considers drug delivery through topical, mucosal, and oral via cyclodextrin complexes.

Cyclodextrins (CD) are cyclic oligosaccharides containing 6, 7 or 8 glucose units (α, β or γ-CD, respectively) in a truncated molecular shape. Their cyclic molecular structure contains a hydrophilic surface and a hydrophobic cavity at the center that can interact (host) with external hydrophobic compounds (guest molecules). Cyclodextrins have been categorized as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) in the USA, “natural products” in Japan, and as “novel food” in Australia, New Zealand and EU countries. They are therefore widely used in food production to encapsulate hydrophobic compounds, including solid, liquid and gas molecules, in order to solubilize, stabilize or control the release rate of these components. To date, there has been no comprehensive review of the very large number of studies performed on encapsulation using cyclodextrin powders for food applications in recent years. This text fills that gap for academics in the encapsulation field and for industry professionals who want to gain a solid understanding of encapsulation functionality of cyclodextrin powders. The book consists of 16 chapters in which chapter 1 introduces cyclodextrin properties and its applications in food processing, and chapters 2-16 explore applications of cyclodextrin in encapsulation for many guest compounds. These compounds include gases, flavors, colors, pigments, polyphenols (plant bioactive compounds), essential oils, lipids (cholesterol and polyunsaturated fatty acids), vitamins, fruit ripening controlling compounds, and antifungal and antimicrobial compounds. These chapters also discuss functionalities of cyclodextrin in packaging, masking off-flavor and off-taste, and as dietary fiber. Covering a broad range of cyclodextrin applications and suitable for both newcomers to encapsulation technology and those with experience, Functionality of Cyclodextrins in Encapsulation for Food Applications is a unique and essential reference on this increasingly important topic.

This authoritative reference work presents comprehensive information about one of the most important and most wide-spread classes of (bio)organic compounds: the polysaccharides. The comprehensive and thoroughly up-to-date handbook presents the sources, identification, analysis, biosynthesis, biotechnology and applications of important polysaccharides likes starches, cellulose, chitin, gum and microbial polysaccharides. Polysaccharides can exhibit complex structure and various functional activities. These bio macromolecules can therefore serve as raw materials for various different materials, e.g. rayon, cellulose acetate, celluloid and nitrocellulose; and they find multiple applications, for instance as surgical threads (chitin), as sources of energy, dietary fibers, as blood flow adjuvants, in cosmetics, emulsion stabilizers, film formers, binders, viscosity increasing agents or skin conditioning agenta, as food additives in gums, chewing gum bases and as vaccines. Polysaccharides form the basis for useful products, like xanthan gum, dextran, welan gum, gellan gum, diutan gum and pullulan. Some of the polysaccharide-derived products have interesting and useful properties and show biological activities, such as immunomodulatory, antibacterial, anti-mutagenic, radioprotective, anti-oxidative, anti-ulcer, antidepressant, anti-septicaemic or anti-inflammatory activities. All these applications and properties of polysaccharides are for the first time compiled in a thorough and comprehensive overview in the present work. This reference work is organized thematically in four parts: Part I. Polysaccharides: Occurrence, Structure, Distribution and Biotechnology. Part II. Methods. Part III. Bioactive Polysaccharides. Part IV. Polysaccharides as Food. This reference work is edited by experienced experts, all chapters are written by well recognized international specialists. It is useful to all those working in the field of botany, phytochemistry, pharmacy, drug delivery, molecular biology, metabolomics, forestry, environment, conservation, biotechnology and NGOs working for forest protection.

Chemistry was at one time completely described in terms of collision theo ry, in which one molecule collided with another, sometimes producing reac tion. Then came the realization that enzymes which are highly efficient ca talysts, work by way of prior complexation, often stereospecific, which is then followed by chemical reaction. Thus, systems that exhibit "host-guest" relationships, i.e., that show complexing are being looked at an ever in creasing frequency. The cyclodextrins are the first and probably the most important example of compounds that exhibits complex formation. This is a book about the cyclodextrins. There are of course other compounds that exhibit "host-guest" relationships and thus bind other organic molecules, but so far they have not achieved the importance of the cyclodextrins. By their name it is obvious that cyclodextrins are cyclic compounds. The complexes that they form are therefore cyclic inclusion complexes. Because the complexes are cyclic in nature, complexation can be very strong, as op posed to 1t-complex, electrostatic, or apolar complexes in which complex formation is two-dimensional rather than three-dimensional. Cyclodextrins turn out to be excellent models of enzymes. This is proba bly not fortuitous because they were first sought since it was discovered that the principal binding in the enzyme chymotrypsin was a cyclic inclusion complex. Cyclodextrins can do more than form cyclic inclusion complexes, they can catalyze as well. But catalysis always occurs after complex formation.

Nearly three thousand papers and patents are dedicated to the actual or potential uses of cyclodextrins in pharmacy and pharmaceutical formulations. This is the first book written for pharmacists and pharmaceutical technologists which not only critically summarizes the enormous amount of literature available, but which can be used as a handbook when looking for solutions to practical problems. The fundamentals -- chemistry of cyclodextrins and their derivatives -- their physical and chemical properties are condensed to the most relevant items in Chapters 1 and 2. Chapter 3 deals with the adsorption, metabolism and toxicological properties of cyclodextrins. Chapter 4 explains the formulation, structure, composition and advantageous effects of the cyclodextrin inclusion complexes. Chapter 5 describes the methods for preparation and characterization of drug/cyclodextrin complexes. Chapters 6 and 7 are dedicated to the pharmacokinetics, biopharmaceutical and technological aspects of drug/CD complexes. Chapter 8 treats the application and effects of cyclodextrins in various drug formulations. The Appendix comprises a collection of recipes for any type of drug formulation. This book is aimed at those who use cyclodextrins in drug formulations, to improve the properties of existing drug formulations, or who want to prepare quite new formulations.

Cyclodextrins are galnlng industrial interest owing to their particu lar structure. These cyclic amyloses are commonly composed of 6, 7 or 8 (named a-, 8-, y-CD) glucose units. They undergo complexation with quite a large number of substances by molecular inclusion. Their potential for in dustrial application is substantiated by their ability to protect fragile substances from oxygen and UV, to delay the evolution of volatiles and to aid the ancillary processing of dangerous or volatile substances in powder ed form. Though a-, 8- and y-CD exhibit different inclusion specificity, 8-CD has found more attention than the others. This is due to the fact that most of the cyclodextrin producing enzymes known produce predominantly 8-CD. Fur thermore 8-CD is by far the least soluble form, leading to a relatively sim ple production and purification. Consequently 8-CD is already in production on an industrial scale [~] while a- and 8-CD are still more or less re garded as specialities. A further CD-producing enzyme has been found in the medium of K. pneu moniae [l], Since this CGT appeared to produce predominantly a-CD [~], it has been chosen to develop a process for the production of a-CD. MATERIALS AND METHODS Analysis of cyclodextrins: HPLC on Lichrosorb-NH . 10 ~m, with acetonitrile 2 water 65/35 per volume. Test for CGT activity: as described by Landert elsewhere in this Volume. Starch: potato starch as obtained from Blattmann, Wadenswil, Switzerland.