Cell-Based Meat Scaffold Based on a 3D-Printed Starch-Based Gel

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Engineering
• Tissue Engineering
• Food Science

Background:

• Developing sustainable and scalable methods for cell-based meat production is crucial.
• Biocompatible scaffolds are essential for providing structural support and promoting cell growth in cultured meat.
• Starch-based materials offer potential as biodegradable and customizable scaffold components.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and optimize a 3D-printed starch-based gel scaffold for cell-based meat cultivation.
• To investigate the effects of calcium carbonate nanoparticles-glucono delta lactone (CaCO3 NPs-GDL) on scaffold properties.
• To evaluate the scaffold's suitability for supporting C2C12 mouse skeletal myoblast proliferation and differentiation.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of starch-based gel ink and 3D printing of scaffolds with optimized infill density.
• Incorporation of CaCO3 NPs-GDL to modify scaffold characteristics.
• Assessment of scaffold properties including swelling, in vitro digestion, water stability, pore size, and compression modulus.
• Cultivation of C2C12 cells on scaffolds and evaluation of cell proliferation, fusion, and maturation.

Main Results:

• Optimized 3D-printed scaffolds (50% infill density) exhibited a highly ordered microstructure.
• Addition of 0.075 g CaCO3 NPs enhanced scaffold properties, including pore size (80-120 μm) and compression modulus (246.76 Pa).
• C2C12 cells showed a 2.81-fold increase in number, with fusion and maturation indices of 57.00% and 34.56%, respectively, indicating successful proliferation and differentiation.

Conclusions:

• The developed starch-based composite gel scaffold is suitable for cell-based meat production.
• The scaffold demonstrates excellent water stability, in vitro degradability, and supports C2C12 cell growth and differentiation.
• This research presents a promising approach for the sustainable manufacturing of cell-based meat products.