Electrochemical aspects of cyclodextrin, calixarene and cucurbituril inclusion complexes

Abstract

The electrochemical behaviour of the host–guest complexes formed by cyclodextrin, calixarene and cucurbiturils host molecules with simple organic guest molecules and their applications using electrochemical studies are discussed in detail in this review. The change in the redox behaviour of the individual molecules upon complexation and the unique properties of the complexes formed are elaborated. The methodology and various electrochemical techniques used for the investigation of these host–guest are categorised with respect to the analytical methods. The electrochemical behaviour upon binding of host with guest and their applications are analysed in detail. The applications are ranging from simple molecular detection to sensing of toxicants, pollutants and biomolecules. The identification of cancer cells and discrimination of chiral molecules are the noteworthy application of these supramolecular electrochemical sensing systems. The aspects discussed in this review could help to extend the electrochemical applications of host–guest systems to utilize them in the highly important applications like cancer detection and pollutant detection.