(a–c) Oscillatory rheological dynamic time sweeps and shear-thin/recovery of 0.5 wt % peptide gels monitoring the storage modulus (G′). Gelation was triggered with either HEPES buffer (green data, final buffer in gel: 25 mM HEPES, 150 mM NaCl, pH 7.4) or cell culture media (red data, final buffer: 0.5× HEPES-supplemented DMEM containing 143 mM sucrose). (d) 0.3 wt % Type I collagen gel in PBS buffer. The first 60 min displays the onset of gelation under a strain of 0.2% and a frequency of 6 rad s−1. Subsequently, the gels were shear-thinned at 1000% strain for 30 s (indicated by the dashed line) and allowed to recover by reducing the strain to 0.2%. (e) Image of an optically clear 0.5 wt % AcVES3-RGDV gel and an opaque 0.3 wt % collagen gel. (f) Transmittance measurements of 0.5 wt % peptide gels and a 0.3 wt % collagen gel.