Animal-free edible scaffolds from soy protein isolate for the scalable production of cultured meat.

ABSTRACT: Large-scale production of cultured meat requires muscle cell culture in bioreactors, where microcarriers (MCs) support cell attachment, growth, and differentiation. However, most MCs are composed of inedible materials, requiring a cell detachment step, and/or contain animal-derived components, which are undesirable for cultured meat production. Therefore, we developed animal-free edible microcarriers based on soy protein isolate (SPI) that support muscle cell growth. SPI MCs supported cell attachment and growth similar to commercial collagen-coated dextran MCs, as bovine myoblasts expanded 24-fold over 8 days in a bioreactor. Moreover, myoblasts could differentiate into myotubes on the SPI-MCs. Importantly, SPI supported cell attachment in serum-free medium, as opposed to methacrylated gel

SUBMITTER: Geurs I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12271769 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature