Water-soluble γ-cyclodextrin polymers with high molecular weight and their complex forming properties

Polymeric cyclodextrins (CDs) derivatives combine the complex forming properties of CDs and properties of polymers such as high molecular weight and high solubility, justifying the increasing interest for its use in biomedical science. In this paper, a series of water-soluble epichlorohydrin/γ-CD polymers were synthesized and the influences of the epichlorohydrin/γ-CD ratio, NaOH concentration and reaction time were studied in order to get high molecular weight polymers. The Mw distribution and CD content of the polymers were determined by size exclusion chromatography and 1H NMR, respectively. The complexing properties of the polymers were studied by isothermal titration calorimetry using Methyl Orange (MO) and Sodium Fusidate (Fus) as guests for the γ-cyclodextrin host. The complex formation with MO is exclusively enthalpy driven whereas the one with Fus is totally entropy driven.