Self-Assembling Peptide Hydrogels for Mucosal Drug Delivery: Synthesis, Triggering Strategies, and Therapeutic Applications
- 1Department of Pharmacy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610207, China
Abstract
Self-assembling peptide hydrogels (SAPHs) have emerged as promising platforms for mucosal drug delivery due to their excellent biocompatibility, programmable sequence design, and diverse triggering strategies. This review systematically discusses the molecular basis, synthesis techniques, and triggering strategies of SAPHs, highlighting how these elements collectively enable in situ gelation and on-demand drug release at mucosal sites. We also review applications across the oral, gastrointestinal, ocular, vaginal, middle ear, and respiratory mucosa, demonstrating the therapeutic potential of SAPHs in infection treatment, tissue repair, and immunomodulation. We further compare SAPHs with other mucosal delivery systems and summarize the clinical status of mucosal delivery products; although several products are in clinical use, no SAPH-based product has been approved for mucosal delivery, and the factors limiting clinical translation are discussed. Despite significant progress, several challenges remain, including balancing mechanical stability with degradation, ensuring batch-to-batch consistency, confirming long-term biosafety, and obtaining regulatory approval. With the integration of artificial intelligence-assisted design and modular programmable platforms, SAPHs hold considerable promise for precision mucosal drug delivery.
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BibTeX
@article{zheng2026selfassembling,
title = {{Self-Assembling Peptide Hydrogels for Mucosal Drug Delivery: Synthesis, Triggering Strategies, and Therapeutic Applications}},
author = {Xin Zheng and Susu Jin and Shuyao Zhu and Tao Lee and Zhaohui Jin},
journal = {Polymers},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3390/polym18212741},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2741},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Self-Assembling Peptide Hydrogels for Mucosal Drug Delivery: Synthesis, Triggering Strategies, and Therapeutic Applications
AU - Xin Zheng
AU - Susu Jin
AU - Shuyao Zhu
AU - Tao Lee
AU - Zhaohui Jin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/04
JO - Polymers
DO - 10.3390/polym18212741
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2741
AB - Self-assembling peptide hydrogels (SAPHs) have emerged as promising platforms for mucosal drug delivery due to their excellent biocompatibility, programmable sequence design, and diverse triggering strategies. This review systematically discusses the molecular basis, synthesis techniques, and triggering strategies of SAPHs, highlighting how these elements collectively enable in situ gelation and on-demand drug release at mucosal sites. We also review applications across the oral, gastrointestinal, ocular, vaginal, middle ear, and respiratory mucosa, demonstrating the therapeutic potential of SAPHs in infection treatment, tissue repair, and immunomodulation. We further compare SAPHs with other mucosal delivery systems and summarize the clinical status of mucosal delivery products; although several products are in clinical use, no SAPH-based product has been approved for mucosal delivery, and the factors limiting clinical translation are discussed. Despite significant progress, several challenges remain, including balancing mechanical stability with degradation, ensuring batch-to-batch consistency, confirming long-term biosafety, and obtaining regulatory approval. With the integration of artificial intelligence-assisted design and modular programmable platforms, SAPHs hold considerable promise for precision mucosal drug delivery.
SN - 2073-4360
ER -