The contents of this volume originate from the joint Inclusion Phenomenal Cyclodextrins Symposium held at Lancaster in July 1986. Consisting of 50 extended ab stracts and 21 original contributions, the reader will find an up-to-date survey of the current state of research into, and applications of, inclusion compounds. Topics covered range from cyclodextrin complexes and their use as media for selective chemical reagents and their applications in chromatography and in the pharmaceutical and agricultural areas; the synthesis of new hosts, particularly those containing hydrophobic cavities; the characterisation of inclusion compounds using crystallographic and spectroscopic techniques; the use of inclusion com pounds as enzyme models; macrocyclic complexes and ionophores; to intercalates and zeolites. The Symposium was extremely successful, being attended by some 250 delegates drawn from 23 nations. It is hoped that the reader will recapture the flavour of the meeting from reading this volume. xi Journal of Inclusion Phenomena 5 (1987), 1-2. 1 © 1987 by D. Reidel Publishing Company. Preface The joint meeting comprlslng the 4th International Symposium on Inclusion Phenomena and the 3rd International Symposium on Cyclodextrins was held on 20 - 25 July, 1986 at the University of Lancaster, Great Britain, and followed on from the previous joint meeting held in Tokyo in July, 1984. The meeting was sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry.