Gellan gum-gelatin scaffolds with Ca²⁺ crosslinking for constructing a structured cell cultured meat model

As an emerging technology to obtain protein by culturing animal-derived cells in vitro, it is crucial to construct 3D edible scaffolds to prepare structured cell cultured meat products. In this study, a scaffold based on gellan gum (GG)-gelatin (Gel) was prepared and further cross-linked with Ca²⁺. FTIR confirmed the electrostatic interaction between GG and Gel and the ionic cross-linking of Ca²⁺ and carboxyl groups, and SEM images showed the porous structure of the scaffolds. The staining results showed that scaffolds with high concentrations of Ca²⁺ had higher biocompatibility than scaffolds with low concentrations of Ca²⁺ and non-crosslinked scaffolds, and scaffolds Ca²⁺-GG₂-Gel₃-0.5 adhered to more cells and were more conducive to cell spreading. The immunofluorescence staining, SEM images, Western blot, and RT-qPCR showed that the scaffolds supported the proliferation and myogenic differentiation of chicken skeletal muscle satellite cells (CSMSCs) and myotubes were formed on the scaffolds. Finally, the scaffolds were stained and fried after culturing. The results of the textural and chromatic analysis showed that the texture and color of the scaffolds were similar to fresh meat and meat products. These results showed that ionically crosslinked GG-Gel scaffolds are biocompatible and stable for structured cell cultured meat models.