Phe–Phe-Based Macroscopic Supramolecular Hydrogel Construction Strategies and Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Since the phenylalanine (Phe) dipeptide moiety is referred to as an essential structure for building amyloid-β peptide from Alzheimer’s disease, its wonderful assembly ability to form nanofibers has been extensively studied. Cross-linked Phe–Phe-based peptide nanofibers can construct networks, thus encapsulating the drugs to form supramolecular hydrogels. Recently, scientists have proposed a variety of Phe–Phe-based macroscopic supramolecular hydrogels and used them in biomedical applications. Therefore, we summarize the construction strategies of Phe–Phe-based macroscopic supramolecular hydrogels and list their represented biomedical applications (e.g., wound healing, eye protection, cancer therapy, etc.) since the birth of Phe–Phe-based supramolecular hydrogels. In addition, we present the perspectives and challenges of Phe–Phe-based macroscopic peptide hydrogels.