Cyclodextrins in Antiviral Therapeutics and Vaccines

Abstract

The present review describes the various roles of cyclodextrins (CDs) in vaccines against viruses and in antiviral therapeutics. The first section describes the most commonly studied application of cyclodextrins—solubilisation and stabilisation of antiviral drugs; some examples also refer to their beneficial taste-masking activity. The second part of the review describes the role of cyclodextrins in antiviral vaccine development and stabilisation, where they are employed as adjuvants and cryopreserving agents. In addition, cyclodextrin-based polymers as delivery systems for mRNA are currently under development. Lastly, the use of cyclodextrins as pharmaceutical active ingredients for the treatment of viral infections is explored. This new field of application is still taking its first steps. Nevertheless, promising results from the use of cyclodextrins as agents to treat other pathologies are encouraging. We present potential applications of the results reported in the literature and highlight the products that are already available on the market.

When Cyclodextrins Met Data Science: Unveiling Their Pharmaceutical Applications through Network Science and Text-Mining

“…The CD is functionalized with sulfonic acid groups to mimic the negatively charged surface of cell receptors, commonly used by the viruses for attachment (i.e., heparan sulfate proteoglycans), thus preventing virus entry into cells [ 81 ]. Certainly, CDs’ versatility in the development of antiviral therapies makes them an appealing tool that is gaining attention in the fight against viral infections, including SARS-CoV-2 [ 70 , 82 , 83 ].…”

Role of Lipid Rafts in Pathogen-Host Interaction - A Mini Review

“…As described above, many pathogen attachment receptors are concentrated in the lipid rafts, hence targeting lipid rafts could be a good strategy to overcome infection ( 140 , 141 ). Disruption of lipid rafts by chemical compounds such as MβCD, filipin, 25-hydroxycholesterol and cyclodextrins has already shown to block the entry of many pathogens into cells ( 63 , 81 , 83 , 100 , 105 , 142 , 143 ). Furthermore, several pharmaceutical drugs used in treatment of other disorders were found to interact with lipid rafts resulting in blocking the entry of pathogens into the cells.…”

Application of Molecular Dynamics Simulations in the Analysis of Cyclodextrin Complexes

“…Therefore, they will not be discussed in this article. Moreover, the benefits resulting from encapsulation of various molecules in the form of CD complexes will not be described here, as there are other (recent and excellent) reviews on this topic [17][18][19]. Therefore, this paper will begin with a brief summary of the concepts of MD simulations, followed by solutions that are frequently used to properly model the CD complexes by its means.…”