Editing Cyclodextrin (section)

{{Short description|Cyclic oligosaccharide with 6 to 8 glucose units}}
{{cs1 config|name-list-style=vanc|display-authors=6}}
[[Image:Cyclodextrin.svg|thumb|upright=2.0|Chemical structure of the three main types of cyclodextrins.]]
'''Cyclodextrins'''  are a family of cyclic [[oligosaccharides]], consisting of a [[macrocycle|macrocyclic]] ring of [[glucose]] subunits joined by α-1,4 [[glycosidic bonds]]. Cyclodextrins are produced from [[starch]] by [[enzyme|enzymatic]] conversion.  They are used in food, pharmaceutical, [[drug delivery]], and chemical industries, as well as agriculture and environmental engineering.<ref name=Ullmann>{{cite encyclopedia| vauthors = Wimmer T |encyclopedia=Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry|publisher=Wiley-VCH|year=2012|doi=10.1002/14356007.e08_e02|isbn = 978-3527306732|chapter = Cyclodextrins}}</ref>

Cyclodextrins are composed of 5 or more α-D-gluco[[Pyranose|pyranoside]] units linked 1 → 4, as in [[amylose]] (a fragment of [[starch]]). Typical cyclodextrins contain a number of [[glucose]] monomers ranging from six to eight units in a ring, creating a cone shape:

* [[α-Cyclodextrin|α (alpha)-cyclodextrin]]: 6 glucose subunits
* [[β-Cyclodextrin|β (beta)-cyclodextrin]]: 7 glucose subunits
* [[γ-Cyclodextrin|γ (gamma)-cyclodextrin]]: 8 glucose subunits

The largest well-characterized cyclodextrin contains 32 1,4-anhydroglucopyranoside units. Poorly-characterized mixtures, containing at least 150-membered cyclic oligosaccharides are also known.