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Serum-Free Media in Cellular Agriculture: Current Challenges, Design Strategies, and Future Prospects
Penglin He1,2,3, Qinghua Ye2,3, Rong Yang1,2,3
1Department of Food Science and Technology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai200240, China.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
|April 30, 2026
Summary
Cellular agriculture needs affordable, ethical serum-free media (SFM) for scaling. Microorganism-derived substitutes and AI-driven formulation show promise for sustainable food production.
Area of Science:
- Food Science
- Biotechnology
- Sustainable Agriculture
Background:
- Cellular agriculture (CA) offers solutions for food security and sustainability.
- Current CA manufacturing relies on costly, variable, and ethically concerning serum-based media.
- Developing affordable, reliable, and ethical serum-free media (SFM) is crucial for CA scalability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the functional roles of serum components in cell culture.
- To summarize advancements in serum substitutes for CA.
- To outline strategies for SFM formulation and development.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of serum-free media development in cellular agriculture.
- Analysis of microorganism-derived substitutes for cost, stability, and scalability.
- Examination of SFM formulation approaches, including multiomics and AI.
Main Results:
- Serum-free media are essential to overcome CA's manufacturing bottlenecks.
- Microorganism-derived substitutes present a promising, cost-effective, and scalable alternative to serum.
- SFM formulation has evolved from empirical methods to sophisticated multiomics and AI-driven designs.
Conclusions:
- Serum-free media are critical for the sustainable scale-up of cellular agriculture.
- Microorganism-derived substitutes and advanced formulation strategies are key to enabling affordable and ethical CA.
- Further research into SFM is vital for realizing the full potential of cellular agriculture.
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