Interactions between cyclodextrins and cellular components: Towards greener medical applications?

Leclercq, Loïc

This review proposes an overview of the current and potential applications of CDs throughout their interactions with endogenous substances that originate from within an organism, tissue or cell. The majority of these applications are based on the capacity of CDs to withdraw cholesterol of the plasma membrane. This behavior presents several applications such as cholesterol manipulation, control of viral and bacterial infections, treatment of Alzheimer's and heart diseases, etc. Moreover, CDs present a viable basis in the context of "green pharmacy and medicine". In the last decade, the concept of "ecofriendly pharmacy" emerged in response to the Kreisberg's question: "what clinicians can do to reduce the environmental impacts of medications" [165] ? Of course, the answers are based on similar principles than green chemistry initially developed by Anastas and Warner [166] . The principles cover various concepts such as: i) the use of bio-sourced ingredients, ii) the use of "green concepts" during the production (chemicals, synthesis processes, life cycle engineering, packaging, waste management), iii) the reduction of the negative impact of medication transportations, iv) the reduction of healthcare environmental footprint, v) the reduction of the use of pharmaceuticals and, vi) the improvement of the ultimate drug disposal with the use of take-back programs [167] . As CDs are bio-sourced compounds with very low toxicity dangers and easily biodegradable, they can be used to obtain more sustainable drug formulations in which CDs act as an active green ingredient and not only as an excipient. It is noteworthy that these CDs can be used alone or in combination with common petro-sourced medications. If a synergistic effect between the two molecules is obtained, a significant amount of the drug can be replaced by eco-and biocompatible CDs whilst maintaining the same biological activity. This is particularly interesting as it solves at least partially the negative impact of pharmaceutical formulations to the environment. Consequently, in this context of "greener pharmacy", CDs will contribute without doubt to preserve our planet in the coming years.