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Biomaterial Strategies for Adipose Tissue Engineering in Cultured Meat: From Cell Sources to Edible Scaffolds
Seihyun Park1, Jihyeon Lee1, Seunghun S Lee1
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Dongguk University, Seoul04620, Republic of Korea.
ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering
|August 10, 2026
Summary
Engineering edible fat for cultured meat is challenging. This review provides a biomaterials framework, evaluating cell sources, scaffolds, and biofabrication methods to overcome hurdles in producing high-quality cultured fat.
Area of Science:
- Cellular agriculture and tissue engineering focused on edible fat production.
Background:
- Intramuscular fat (marbling) is crucial for meat quality (flavor, juiciness, tenderness).
- Engineering functional fat tissue is a key challenge for cultured meat development.
- Bridging clinical adipose tissue engineering with cultured meat biofabrication needs a biomaterials approach.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a biomaterials-centric framework for engineering edible fat for cultured meat.
- To systematically evaluate cell sources, scaffold design criteria, and biofabrication strategies for scalable cultured fat production.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of cell sources for adipogenesis (e.g., stem cells, progenitors).
- Critical analysis of biomaterial design criteria for adipose scaffolds (softness, porosity, food-grade).
- Assessment of biofabrication strategies (3D bioprinting, microcarriers, spheroids) for scalability.
Main Results:
- Identified optimal cell sources and species-specific considerations for livestock adipogenesis.
- Highlighted essential biomaterial properties: mechanical softness (<3 kPa), high porosity (>90%), and food-grade composition.
- Compared various scaffold materials (natural polymers, proteins, matrices, hydrogels) for adipogenic potential and edibility.
- Evaluated biofabrication techniques for industrial-scale cultured fat production.
Conclusions:
- Key challenges include cost reduction, nutritional customization, sensory fidelity, and regulatory compliance.
- A translational roadmap is proposed to advance cultured fat from lab to commercial reality.
- Biomaterials and biofabrication innovations are critical for successful cultured meat fat development.
