Cyclodextrin-based host-guest supramolecular hydrogel and its application in biomedical fields

The cyclodextrin (CD) based host-guest inclusion complexation between cyclodextrins (CDs) and guest moieties has inspired the fabrication of novel supramolecular hydrogels for biomedical applications. From a topology of view, this article reviews the recent developments of two kinds of CD-based supramolecular hydrogels and their applications in biomedical fields respectively. On one hand, supramolecular hydrogels derived from CD-based poly(pseudo)rotaxanes generally displayed thixotropic and reversible properties and have been extensively developed as injectable drug delivery systems. On the other hand, supramolecular hydrogels based on the host-guest interaction between CDs and small guest moieties generally exhibited stimuli-responsive behaviors, typically the release of therapeutic agents. The development of CD-based supramolecular hydrogels provides a new platform for the design of novel biomaterials.