Self-assembled small molecular weight hydrogels of prodrugs

Molecular self-assembly is very ordinary phenomenon in the biological process such as protein folding, DNA encoding and etc. Inspired by this inherent biological process, nanostructure such as nanofibers, nanosphere, and so on formed by the therapeutic agents and its derivatives that can further self-assemble into supramolecular hydrogels have attained considerable attentions in the field of drug delivery due to its favorable features such as high and precise drug payload, carrier-free and excellent biocompatibility. Additionally, the prodrug hydrogelator can be rationally designed to fine-tune over its drug release behavior and degradation in response to various biological stimulus (temperature, pH, ionic strength and etc.). This review summarized and discussed the recent advancement in the self-assembled small molecular weight hydrogels of prodrugs.