Cyclodextrins belong to the most important and promising macrocyclic hosts, since they are inexpensive, water-soluble natural products, non-toxic, readily functionalized and commercially available. Cyclodextrin chemistry creates lots of research areas. The present review focuses on investigations of cyclodextrins in polymer chemistry and their applications in drug delivery systems. Click reactions as a possibility to obtain polymer chains with covalently attached cyclodextrins are described, and examples for the application of such polymers in drug delivery are shown.

In the past few years the use of microwave irradiation in polymer science has become a well-established technique to drive and promote chemical reactions. The main advantages of microwave heating are a strong reduction in reaction time and a high potential to contribute to green and sustainable chemistry. This article provides a short review of recent examples in the field of microwave-assisted polymer synthesis with special emphasis on radical polymerizations, step-growth polymerizations, ring-opening polymerizations, and polymer modifications.