ABSTRACT
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The history of cyclodextrins (CDs) is divided into three stages. In the first period from 1891 (discovery by A. Villiers) until middle of the last century, the structure and fundamental properties of CDs were recognized. F. Schardinger isolated pure α-and β-CDs, and described their fundamental properties, and K. Freudenberg elucidated their structure. In the second stage, up to the 1970s, mainly applications and the inclusion complex forming properties of CDs were studied. D. French et al.1 and F. Cramer et al.2 began to work intensively on the enzymatic production of CDs, fractionating them and characterizing their chemical and physical properties. French1 discovered that there are even larger CDs, whereas Cramer's group focused
mainly on the inclusion complex forming properties of CDs. The first fundamental review on CDs was published in 1957 by French.1 It was followed by monographs in 1965 by Thoma and Stewart3 and in 1968 by Caesar.4 French's otherwise excellent monograph contained a severe misinformation on the toxicity of CDs. The third stage began at the end of 1970s, with the industrial production of CDs and their steadily increasing utilization in numerous products and technologies.
