This post was written by Ibrahim Hussein.
Cyclodextrin-based carriers have evolved beyond their traditional role as solubilizing agents toward ligand-targeted, organ-specific drug delivery systems. As highlighted in the recent review “Cyclodextrin-based carriers for targeted drug delivery” (Hussein et al., Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, 2026) of the prof. Francesco Trotta’s group, cyclodextrins (CDs) act as modular building blocks that enhance drug solubility and stability through inclusion complexation. Moreover, CDs serve as structural units in supramolecular assemblies, soluble polymers, and nanosponges, which can be functionalized with targeting ligands to improve delivery precision and minimize off-target effects.
Relevance of this Review
A key contribution is the organ-by-organ organization of targeting strategies, which makes it easier to connect biological barriers (BBB, mucus, lung endothelium, GI environment) with specific carrier design choices.
The authors highlight that incorporating targeting ligands is a crucial step that advances CD systems from “improved solubility” to “selective delivery at disease sites.”
Key Tables for Researchers
- Table 1 gives a compact cross-organ comparison: common ligands/mechanisms, their receptor/biomarker targets, plus benefits and recurring limitations (e.g., BBB permeability, mucus barriers, systemic clearance, marker heterogeneity).
- Table 2 summarizes relevant clinical studies with CD-containing formulations for CNS or brain-related applications, specifying CD type, therapeutic agent, and application, to offer a quick overview of existing human-use formulations in this area.
- The review provides a focused clinical snapshot, but it is not primarily a clinical trials or NCT-indexed registry-style article.
- Table 3 and Table 4 extend the lookup format to the GI tract, summarizing CD-based systems for esophagus, stomach, and intestinal delivery (drug, carrier, targeting approach/ligand, and disease/target).
Notable clinical trial signal
The review provides a focused clinical snapshot, particularly in Table 2, but it is not primarily a clinical trial or NCT-indexed registry-style article.
Most of the paper’s value lies in translating design logic, ligand choice, architecture (conjugate, soluble polymer, nanosponge, or MOF-like constructs), and barrier-specific constraints into a structured set of examples to guide new formulation design.
Reference
Hussein, I. M., Krabicová, I., Hoti, G., Er-Rahmani, S., Matencio, A., Caldera, F., & Trotta, F. (2026). Cyclodextrin-based carriers for targeted drug delivery. Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, (just-accepted). https://doi.org/10.1080/17425247.2025.2596707