Scaffolding for Cultured Meat

While the cultured meat industry is moving closer to commercialization in the world's major markets, there are still many technical challenges that are restricting the industry's capabilities to scale up its technology. One such challenge, and a key component of cultured meat, is the scaffold that enables cells to grow with structure. Growing cells in three dimensions is a challenge: cells require a scaffold that replicates the extracellular matrix within animal tissue in order to grow well. The considerations to building a suitable scaffold are multifaceted. For instance, cells need a solid surface to grow on and orient alongside but cells must also be within 200 μm of a nutrient source to survive. Thus, the search for appropriate scaffold materials is a major R&D focus for cultured meat companies. In this premium article, IDTechEx discusses the considerations for scaffolds in cultured meat and the technologies being employed to build good scaffolds.