Raw data regarding rheological characterization, pore size determination and printability of the materials employed in the study: “Genipin-Crosslinked Pectin Hydrogels: A Dual Strategy for Enhanced 3D Printability and Stability”

[Description of methods used for collection/generation of data] Rheological data. The rheological properties of all the materials were determined using a rotational rheometer (AR-G2, TA Instruments, USA) equipped with a 20 mm cross-hatched stainless steel Peltier plate geometry. Oscillatory frequency sweep tests were conducted on pectin-genipin hydrogels swollen at equilibrium over a frequency range of 0.01–10 Hz, at a temperature of 25 ºC and at a constant strain of 1%, located within the linear viscoelastic region (LVR). An oscillatory amplitude sweep (1 Hz; γ = 0.01%–500%) was performed to determine the critical strain, defined as the point at which a 5% decrease in the storage modulus (G′) is observed. Subsequently, frequency sweep tests (1% strain, 0.01–100 Hz) were carried out to measure the storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G″). Finally, hydrogel recovery test varying the strain from 1% to 200% at a constant frequency of 1 Hz, applying 2 cycles at high strain. Printability tests. Scaffolds were fabricated via 3D printing using a Creality Ender 3 Pro filament printer, which was adapted to enable the extrusion of polymeric hydrogels. The uniformity factor (U) was used to evaluate how uniform the filament was compared to a perfectly straight filament. Digimizer software was used to manually measure the outer edge on both sides of the filament. This length was then divided by the length of the reference line to calculate the uniformity factor (equation 2), which indicates whether the filament is uniform (U = 1) or non-uniform (U > 1). U"\=" (length"\ "of"\ "printed"\ "filament"\ ")/(length"\ "of"\ "theorical"\ "straight"\ "filament) (Equation 1) For the determination of the printability index, Pr, a single layer cylindrical scaffold was printed with an internal design configured to form 12 squares with a side length of 3 mm each. The area of each internal square was quantified using Digimizer software, and these values were used to calculate the average printability index (Pr) according to equation 3. Based on this index, three gelation states are identified: insufficient gelation (Pr < 1), adequate gelation (Pr = 1), and excessive gelation (Pr > 1). Pr"\=" π/4 x 1/C "\=" L^2/16A "\ "(Equation"\ " 2) Pore size. Pore size was quantified using ImageJ. Micrographs were calibrated with the scale bar, and image preprocessing (contrast enhancement and threshold adjustment) was applied to delineate pore boundaries. Approximately 45 pores were analyzed per sample, and the equivalent circular diameter was calculated from the pore area. Results were reported as mean ± standard deviation (SD) to describe pore size distribution.