Our coarse-grained simulation model of microgels is based on the cell-model picture used in the theoretical model. We simulate a single microgel in a cubic simulation box, whose size is determined by the system microgel concentration. Differently from the theoretical case, we use a cubic cell, with periodic boundary conditions. This model resembles the theoretical picture for low concentrations, for which microgel double layer does not interact with its image, κ -1 ≪ L, with L the simulation box length. A single microgel network is created by linking several straightened polymer chains of N monomers per chain in spherical fashion according to a diamond lattice arrangement, as exemplified in Fig. . The resulting microgel contains N ch chains linked by N cross crosslinkers. The polymer chains and the crosslinkers are represented using the bead-spring Kremer-Grest model, where the beads interact via the Weeks-Chandler-Andersen (WCA) potential and are linked with FENE bonds. The WCA potential has the form 46