Production of scaffold-free cell-based meat using cell sheet technology.

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Food Science
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Growing demand for sustainable food production.
• Need to reduce animal-derived materials in cell-based meat.
• Limitations of current scaffold-based approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop scaffold-free cell-based meat using cell sheet technology.
• To characterize the texture and nutritional content of the fabricated meat.
• To assess the scalability and environmental friendliness of the method.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of bovine myoblast cell sheets using temperature-responsive culture dishes (TRCDs).
• Stacking 10 cell sheets to create 3D tissue constructs (1.3-2.7 mm thickness).
• Texture analysis (hardness) after incubation and boiling; protein content determination.

Main Results:

• Achieved scaffold-free cell-based meat with increased hardness after incubation and boiling, mimicking natural meat texture.
• Cell sheet-based meat exhibited approximately half the wet weight percentage of total protein compared to beef.
• Demonstrated scalability by producing larger items through scaled-up TRCDs.

Conclusions:

• Cell sheet technology offers a viable method for producing scaffold-free cell-based meat.
• The fabricated meat exhibits desirable textural properties and can be scaled for larger production.
• This approach presents a promising, environmentally friendly alternative for sustainable food production.