Exploring a cold-gelled whey protein-based ink for applications in cultured meat 3D bioprinting

Food bioprinting, such as cultured meat, represents a promising approach for sustainable food alternatives overcoming ethical and production concerns on conventional animal farming. Indeed, to replicate the structure and functionality of the animal-derived tissues, 3D bioprinting offers significant advantages in precisely controlling the tissue architecture and texture. However, the success of this technology relies on the development of bioinks that balance biocompatibility, mechanical stability, printability, and edibility. Current bioinks, largely derived from animal-based materials, such as gelatin and fibrinogen, pose ethical and regulatory concerns, highlighting the need for alternative formulations meeting these criteria. This study introduces a novel whey protein isolate (WPI)-based bioink to fabricate stable and cell-supportive hydrogels for food engineering applications, such as cultured meat. WPI, as a by-product of the dairy industry, provides a sustainable and functional alternative to gelatin, offering cell adhesion properties while satisfying food safety standards. A cold gelation approach was employed to form a stable WPI matrix which, combined with alginate, produced a structurally robust network without chemical modifications, while maintaining cell viability. The bioink was evaluated for its printability, mechanical properties, and ability to support cell viability over time, with direct comparison to a gelatin-alginate reference formulation. The results underscore the potential of WPI-based bioinks in 3D bioprinting, addressing key limitations of conventional materials and paving the way for scalable and sustainable scaffold fabrication.