Hydrogelation of the tripeptide Lff was then triggered by adding an equal volume of a mildly acidic phosphate buffer to reach the final pH 7.3. Hydrogels successfully formed in all ND loadings (Figure ), as confirmed by rheological analyses. In particular, time sweeps revealed that presence of NDs at all the tested levels did not affect gelation kinetics (Figure ), with immediate gelation without any lag-phase, with the both elastic and viscous moduli increasing rapidly and reaching a plateau within one hour.