Bioadhesive supramolecular hydrogel from unprotected, short d,l-peptides with Phe-Phe and Leu-Asp-Val motifs.

The uncapped tripeptide DPhe-Phe-Leu acts as self-assembly template to yield supramolecular hydrogel biomaterials. As an example, self-assembling DPhe-Phe-Leu-Asp-Val contains the LDV bioadhesive motif for β1 integrin activation. Hydrogels made of the two peptides successfully mimic fibronectin of the extracellular matrix and lead to high cell viability, adhesion, and spreading.