Differential dynamic potentiometry (DDP) is a novel potentiometric technique, which consists of recording the dynamic potential difference between two ion-selective electrodes (ISEs). In this article, we describe its application to studying the dynamic contribution of beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) to the potential response of drug-selective electrodes. Surprisingly. DDP responses in serial calibration mode were characteristic for each individual drug, and might serve as drug-fingerprints. Also, non-monotonic DDP responses were obtained using single concentration step experiments, and these were used for quantitative drug analysis. Theoretical simulations of the DDP responses based on a reported dynamic diffusion model allowed both types of the experimentally obtained signals to be predicted. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.