Peptide hydrogels are promising candidates for a wide range of medical and biotechnological applications. To further expand the potential utility of peptide hydrogels, herein we demonstrate a simple yet effective strategy to render peptide hydrogels photodegradable, making controlled disassembly of the gel structure of interest feasible. In addition, we find that the high-frequency amide I' component (i.e., the peak at similar to 1685 cm(-1)) of the photodegradable peptide hydrogel studied shows an unusually large enhancement, in comparison to that of other peptide fibrils consisting of antiparallel beta-sheets, making it a good model system for further study of the coupling-structure relationship. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.