Peptide Hydrogels as Smart Drug Delivery Systems With Tunable Release Rates

Affinity-based release strategies incorporate reversible molecular interactions into peptide hydrogel networks that bind and gradually release therapeutic cargo. These interactions can be tuned to control drug release profiles, meeting specific pharmacokinetic requirements. The review identifies this as an underexplored but promising approach in peptide hydrogels, which offer advantages over polymer-based systems including biocompatibility and biodegradability inherent to peptide materials.

This is a review article surveying recent advances in affinity-controlled peptide gel release systems. It covers design principles, release mechanisms, and applications in drug delivery, comparing approaches used in polymer-based materials with emerging strategies in peptide hydrogels.

Many therapeutic peptides and proteins have short half-lives, requiring frequent injections that reduce patient compliance and increase side effects. Peptide hydrogels that release drugs at controlled rates could enable single-injection treatments that maintain therapeutic levels for extended periods — a significant quality-of-life improvement for patients on chronic peptide therapies.

As peptide therapeutics become increasingly important in medicine (GLP-1 agonists, antimicrobial peptides, growth factors), the need for sophisticated delivery systems grows. Peptide hydrogels are uniquely positioned because they are made from the same building blocks as the drugs they deliver, offering inherent biocompatibility. This review maps the frontier of combining peptide drugs with peptide delivery materials.

This is a review without new experimental data. The field of affinity-controlled peptide hydrogels is still in early stages, with most work being proof-of-concept. Translation to clinical drug delivery products faces challenges in manufacturing scalability, regulatory approval, and demonstrating clinical superiority over existing controlled-release technologies.