Rheological parameters of the hydrogels were identified using an MCR 302 rheometer (Anton Paar GmbH, Graz, Austria). The rheometer was equipped with a CP50-1 stainless steel cone-and-plate system of 50 mm diameter, 1° cone angle and 50 µm cone truncation and a Peltier controlled temperature unit. An aliquot of 900 µL of 1% hydrogel was applied to a plate cone. The linear viscoelastic (LVE) region was determined through an amplitude sweeps: shear strain (0.01% to 100% at 6 rad s -1 ) and shear stress (0.001 to 10 Pa at 6.28 rad s -1 ). Frequency sweep were measured from 0.01 to 100 rad s -1 at 2.5% strain. The frequency dependence of the storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (G") of the hydrogels were measured at 37°C. All experiments were carried out in triplicate and reported as the mean of three repeats.