Inclusion Complexes in Drug Delivery and Drug Targeting: Formation, Characterization, and Biological Applications

Host-guest complexation based on non-covalent interactions can be successfully exploited for drug and nucleic acid delivery purposes. The chapter covers the main classes of hosts used for these applications, namely cyclodextrins, calixarenes, and cucurbiturils and reveals the main representatives and their physicochemical characteristics that modulate the complexation process. It also highlights relevant drugs and nucleic acid complexes, together with the dysfunctions and diseases where the host-guest complexes have been successfully used.