Self-assembled peptide hydrogels have emerged in recent years as the new paradigm in biomaterials research.We have contributed to this field the development of hydrogels based on dehydrodipeptides N-capped with naproxen.The dehydrodipeptide hydrogels can be loaded with drugs, thus being potential nanocarriers for drug delivery.
In this work novel dehydrodipeptides containing tyrosine and aspartic acid amino acid residues N-capped with naproxen and C-terminal CHOCO MINT BAR dehydrophenylalanine were prepared and characterized.Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) were incorporated into the dehydrodipeptide-based hydrogels and their effect on the self-assembly, structure and rheological and magnetic properties of the hydrogels was studied.Magnetic hydrogels, with incorporated SPIONs, displayed concentration-dependent T2-MRI contrast enhancement.
Moreover, upon magnetic excitation (alternating magnetic field –AMF–) the SPIONs were able to generate a significant amount of heat.Hence, magnetic hyperthermia can be used as a remote trigger for release of drug USB to SATA Adaptor cargos and SPIONs incorporated into the self-assembled dehydrodipeptide hydrogels.