Self-assembled peptide hydrogels have emerged in recent years as the new paradigm in\nbiomaterials research. We have contributed to this field the development of hydrogels based on\ndehydrodipeptides N-capped with naproxen.The dehydrodipeptide hydrogels can be loaded with\ndrugs, thus being potential nanocarriers for drug delivery. In this work novel dehydrodipeptides\ncontaining tyrosine and aspartic acid amino acid residues N-capped with naproxen and C-terminal\ndehydrophenylalanine were prepared and characterized. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles\n(SPIONs) were incorporated into the dehydrodipeptide-based hydrogels and their effect on the\nself-assembly, structure and rheological and magnetic properties of the hydrogels was studied.\nMagnetic hydrogels, with incorporated SPIONs, displayed concentration-dependent T2-MRI contrast\nenhancement. Moreover, upon magnetic excitation (alternating magnetic field -AMF-) the SPIONs\nwere able to generate a significant amount of heat. Hence, magnetic hyperthermia can be used\nas a remote trigger for release of drug cargos and SPIONs incorporated into the self-assembled\ndehydrodipeptide hydrogels.
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