Advanced Strategies for Constructing Self‐Assembled Peptide Hydrogels/Nanoparticles for Cancer Treatment

Abstract Peptide hydrogels are of their well‐suited porous structure, high biocompatibility, ease of penetration, and facile functionalization. In this review, several triggering methods are summarized for producing anticancer peptide‐based nanofibers, nanohydrogels, and nanoparticles (NPs), employing various factors such as heating‐cooling, solvent‐switch method, ionic strength, concentration, sonication, hydrogen ion concentration (pH), photo‐crosslinking, and liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) methods. Both linear and cyclic peptides can be incorporated into self‐assembled nanofibers, nanoparticles, and nanohydrogels, and/or their structures may be used alternatively under specific circumstances. Furthermore, as a mild, residue‐free approach that does not disrupt the hydrogel structure, supercritical carbon dioxide (sc‐CO 2 ) can also be incorporated to solve the challenging problems of hydrogel sterilization.