Kinetic analysis of α-cyclodextrin interactions using polydiacetylene liposomes

α-Cyclodextrin (α-CD) has specific interactions with a number of important molecules including neurotoxins, pesticides, and hydrophobic drugs. Here, we describe the kinetics of a competitive inhibition of the interaction of α-CD with chromogenic polydiacetylene (PDA) liposomes. The competitive inhibition of α-CD with chromogenic PDA liposomes has already been used for sensing and detection purposes. Here we show that this mechanism can be successfully applied to characterize the reaction kinetics of α-CD with optically inactive compounds such as paraoxon neurotoxins via simple colorimetric changes. This method would enable easy characterisation of the interactions of α-CD when used as a drug delivery system or for drug solubilisation.