Quantifying Biomass and Visualizing Cell Coverage on Fibrous Scaffolds for Cultivated Meat Production.

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Cell Biology
• Food Science & Technology

Background:

• Cultivated meat offers a sustainable alternative to traditional meat production, addressing environmental and ethical concerns.
• Biomaterial scaffolds are essential for in vitro tissue development, supporting cell growth and tissue formation.
• Understanding scaffold-cell interactions, including degradation and biomass accumulation, is critical for optimizing cultivated meat production.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline comprehensive methods for quantifying scaffold-cell interactions in cultivated meat production.
• To focus on assessing biomaterial scaffold degradation and changes in cell biomass.
• To provide a framework for advancing cellular agriculture techniques through precise protocols.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication and preparation of silk fiber scaffolds for cell seeding.
• Cultivation of C2C12 mouse myoblast cells and seeding onto scaffolds.
• Quantification of scaffold degradation and biomass variation (cell weight, ECM deposition, cell coverage).
• Assessment of cell coverage using fixation/staining and non-invasive real-time imaging.

Main Results:

• Detailed protocols for preparing and culturing cells on fiber scaffolds.
• Methods to precisely quantify scaffold degradation and cell biomass accumulation.
• Two distinct methodologies for assessing cell coverage on scaffolds were introduced and validated.

Conclusions:

• The developed methods provide a robust framework for quantifying critical parameters in cultivated meat production.
• These protocols are essential for process design and scaling up cellular agriculture.
• The study facilitates advancements in creating safe, nutritious, and texturally accurate cultivated meat.