Dipeptide-polysaccharides hydrogels through co-assembly

Self-assembling dipeptide hydrogels are attracting attention in food, materials, and biomedicine. However, there are still limitations such as weak hydrogel properties. Herein, we introduced two types of polysaccharides (Arabic gum and citrus pectin) into an alkyl-chain modified dipeptide (C13-tryptophan-tyrosine (C13-WY)) to generate co-assembled C13-WY-arabic gum and C13-WY-pectin hydrogels. The co-assembled hydrogels exhibited enhanced mechanical properties and stability. The G' value of C13-WY-arabic gum and C13-WY-pectin hydrogels was 3 and 10 times larger than that of C13-WY hydrogel, respectively. The addition of Arabic gum and citrus pectin led to the co-assembly and molecular rearrangement. Moreover, co-assembled hydrogels showed more beta-sheet structure and hydrogen bonds. Importantly, the self-/co-assembled hydrogels showed low cytotoxicity. We utilized these hydrogels for the encapsulation of docetaxel and they showed a high embedding rate and slow-release. Our findings provide a novel strategy for the development of stable supramolecular peptide hydrogels with good biocompatibility through simple co-assembly.