Oops, we did it again.
This time with CNR: Nino Mazzaglia, Giuseppe Pappalardo and may others and of course our dear Milo Malanga.
Together we explored the role, chemistry and biology of defensins, of course with the help of cyclodextrins, particularly succinylated-BCD polymer.
Defensins are a large and ancient family of host–defence peptides present across vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants, where they play a crucial role in innate immunity.
What can we bring out of cyclodextrin polymers at CarboHyde?
Whatever you want, apparently 🙂
Our long-term collaboration with Salvo Sortino‘s team and Szabolcs Béni just yielded another great paper with Milo Malanga.
Here, we made a photoresponsive β-cyclodextrin branched polymer, where excitation of the Poly-βCD1 with visible blue light results in the generation of nitric oxide.
The negligible cytotoxic action of DOX, used well below the therapeutic doses, alone or in combination with the polymer in the dark, is enhanced in both cell lines under light irradiation exclusively when the drug is combined with Poly-βCD1 as a result of the combined action of NO.
Whatever you want, apparently 🙂
Our long-term collaboration with Salvo Sortino‘s team and Szabolcs Béni just yielded another great paper with Milo Malanga.
Here, we made a photoresponsive β-cyclodextrin branched polymer, where excitation of the Poly-βCD1 with visible blue light results in the generation of nitric oxide.
The negligible cytotoxic action of DOX, used well below the therapeutic doses, alone or in combination with the polymer in the dark, is enhanced in both cell lines under light irradiation exclusively when the drug is combined with Poly-βCD1 as a result of the combined action of NO.
Using CDs for wound healing has been in the spotlight for a long time, many applications and promising prototypes were developed, yet none reached the market.
This may change with the innovation of Jun Li at National University of Singapore who made a smart multifunctional ROS-responsive supramolecular hydrogel.
The polymer is dynamically crosslinked by inclusion complexes of β-cyclodextrin (βCD) and ferrocene (Fc).
This hydrogel facilitates the on-demand release of interleukin-4 (IL-4) while exhibiting intrinsic antibacterial properties.
The system subsequently reprograms macrophages from the proinflammatory M1 phenotype to the anti‒inflammatory M2 phenotype, thereby addressing immune dysregulation in diabetic wounds.
The composition significantly enhanced wound closure, collagen density, and angiogenesis while reducing proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α) and increasing anti‒inflammatory cytokine IL-10 levels.
Smart multifunctional ROS-responsive supramolecular hydrogel for simultaneously regulating oxidative stress, immune dysregulation, and bacterial infection in diabetic wound healing – ScienceDirect
Our COO and Nutraceutical Innovation Head, Tamás Vargadi, will be attending the upcoming Vitafoods in Barcelona, where he’ll be diving into the latest innovations in food supplements.
At CarboHyde, we are particularly interested in exploring how emerging challenges in delivery could be addressed using cyclodextrins — unlocking new possibilities for improved solubility, stability, and bioavailability.
Tamas is looking forward to connecting with fellow experts, exchanging ideas, and identifying collaboration opportunities.
Do you want to learn more about Carbo and cyclodextrins?
Who else will be attending? Let’s connect in Barcelona!
Glioblastoma (GB) is the most common and aggressive malignant brain tumor, with a median survival of only 12–15 months.
Alternative therapeutic strategies—such as targeting the mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MAPK/ERK) signaling pathway with MEK inhibitors like trametinib and selumetinib—are being explored.
However, their clinical success is currently hindered by inadequate delivery across the blood–brain barrier and dose-limiting toxicity.
In this work, Noemi Bognanni, Graziella Vecchio and colleagues investigate two cationic CyD polymers as potential nanocarriers for GB therapy based on trametinib and selumetinib.
Their multivalent architecture and positive charge can facilitate both the encapsulation of drugs and membrane interactions.
Now our global player in Centrifugal Partition Chromatography (CPC), RotaChrom Technologies published about Scalable enantioseparation of rac-voriconazole.
Features?
– Batch CPC sets the baseline, intensified to cyclic continuous stacked-injection CPC.
– MDM CPC mode enables continuous injection and dual-outlet product collection.
– MDM CPC intensification delivers an overall ≈25× productivity gain vs resolution.
– Continuous CPC reduces solvent and selector use via repeated phase recycling.
And the best part?
The cyclodextrin, of course. To improve process economics, sulfobutyl ether-β-cyclodextrin (SBE-β-CD) was replaced with lower-cost randomly methylated β-cyclodextrin (RM-β-CD) without compromising the partitioning and selectivity required for MDM operation.
Continuous MDM CPC afforded (2R,3S)-voriconazole at ≥99.8% optical purity and 99.9% enantiomeric excess (ee), with 81% isolated yield
Congrats to Anita Kiss, Dóra Rutterschmid, Szabolcs Muráth!
In this patent (WO 2026/018002 A1) from Genomic Labs the inventors describe obtaining DNA of a bacterial or fungal pathogen from a mammalian blood sample via a series of purification steps.
During the purification process, cyclodextrins are also used to improve the efficiency of microbial lysis and nucleic acid extraction in addition to it providing microbial nucleic acid amplification efficiency.
WO2026018002 METHOD OF PURIFYING BACTERIAL OR FUNGAL PATHOGEN DNA FROM BLOOD SAMPLE
Not often do I say this, but I have encountered something intriguing in cyclodextrin chemistry.
While I am not a synthesis expert, this development is remarkable.
Despite decades of research in synthetic chemistry and materials sciences, the selective editing of chemical bonds within molecular containers like cyclodextrins remains a significant challenge.
Recent findings reveal that quinuclidine, a catalyst capable of reversibly binding to the cavity of α-cyclodextrin, can selectively abstract hydrogen atoms from one of its endo C–H bonds upon single-electron oxidation. This process causes the geminal hydroxyl group to flip to the interior face of the macrocycle.
The endo-hydroxylated α-cyclodextrin has demonstrated the ability to separate chiral compounds that its natural counterpart could not resolve in gas chromatography, thanks to its desymmetrized cavity and polar recognition site.
For further details, refer to the publication: https://lnkd.in/dtBTDFy6
We are the proudest, when students we mentor flourish and grow.
Fahad Khan Tareen, PhD spent a short time this year at CarboHyde, so we dont take the merits for his excellent science, but hope the insights we gave can contibute to his career.
Congratulations on your PhD!
We wish you the best, and dont dare to move away from cyclodextrins 🙂
