Smart hydrogels from laterally-grafted peptide assemblyElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental details of peptides synthesis and characterizations, CD, FT-IR and UV spectra, additional TEM and SEM images. See DOI: 10.1039/c2cc34528e

Small peptides carrying laterally-grafted azobenzene units self-assemble into photo-responsive hydrogels which are applied as a smart matrix for controlling the dye molecules release. We demonstrate that a delicate balance among peptides interactions plays a pivotal role in the photo-responsive gel-sol transition. Photo-responsive hydrogels were constructed by introducing electrostatic repulsions into short peptides carrying laterally-grafted azobenzene units.