Since its discovery, the Phe-Phe motif has gained in popularity as a minimalist building block to drive the self-assembly of short peptides and their analogues into nanostructures and hydrogels. Molecules based on the Phe-Phe motif have found a range of applications in nanomedicine, from drug delivery and biomaterials to new therapeutic paradigms. Here we discuss the various production methods for this class of compounds, and the characterization, nanomorphologies, and application of their self-assembled nanostructures. We include the most recent findings on their remarkable properties, which hold substantial promise for the creation of the next generation nanomedicines.
Keywords: diphenylalanine; hydrogels; nanostructures; peptides; self-assembly.