ABSTRACT
Alpha-cyclodextrin (α-CD) contains six glucopyranosyl units linked by α-1,4glycosidic bonds and is one of a family of three cyclodextrin molecules (α-, β-, and γ-cyclodextrin) (see Figure 2.1). In nature, the cyclodextrins are produced as a storage form of carbohydrate by some microorganisms, but they can also be produced industrially by the enzymatic degradation of amylose by cyclodextrin-glucosyltransferases (CGTs), a group of amylolytic enzymes belonging to the class of α-amylases. CGTs cleave the helical amylose molecule at regular intervals of 6, 7, or 8 glucose units forming at the same time a ring by an intramolecular glucosyltransferase reaction, resulting in the formation of α-, β-, and γ-cyclodextrin, respectively [1].
