Oscillation strain experiments were performed for 7.5wt% G hydrogels with different crosslinker concentrations to determine the suitable strain used in further experiments. 0.1% strain was selected as no decrease of storage modulus was observed at this level (Figure (a)). Storage modulus was then monitored for 20 min at 0.1% strain and 1 rad/s frequency for 7.5wt% G hydrogels with different crosslinker concentrations. The higher the crosslinker concentration, the higher the storage modulus which can be associated with the strength of the hydrogel (Figure ). Swelling results are provided in Table . All genipin-crosslinked hydrogels showed similar equilibrium swelling ratios in water, likely due to the additional physical crosslinking (Table ). Nevertheless, a small reduction in swelling ratio (from c.a. 13 to 10) while increasing genipin loading from 0.1 to 1wt% was observed. The hydrogel prepared in the absence of genipin did not swell but fully dissolved in water.