The thrombin-induced degradation of three hydrogels of differentDCL wasalsomeasuredusingaQCM.AsshowninFig.2b,the frequency increased for all three gels when exposed to thrombin solution (20 U mL1 in 0.01 M PBS), indicating gel degradation. Based on the linear part of the initial rising portion of the curves, the average degradation rates of the hydrogels were estimated.45 As shown in Fig. S4a (ESI†), the degradation rate increased as the DCL decreased. The main reason for this result is probably that hydrogels of lower DCL havea looserstructureandlarger pores, both ofwhich facilitate thrombin diffusion.