Decellularized grass as a sustainable scaffold for skeletal muscle tissue engineering

Repurposing Laboratory Plastic into Functional Fibrous Scaffolds via Green Electrospinning for Cell Culture and Tissue Engineering Applications

Cell culture for tissue engineering is a global and flexible research method that relies heavily on plastic consumables, which generates millions of tons of plastic waste annually. Here, we develop an innovative sustainable method for scaffold production by repurposing spent tissue culture polystyrene into biocompatible microfiber scaffolds, while using environmentally friendly solvents. Our new green electrospinning approach utilizes two green, biodegradable and low-toxicity solvents, dihydrolevoglucosenone (Cyrene) and dimethyl carbonate (DMC) to process laboratory cell culture petri dishes into polymer dopes for electrospinning. Scaffolds produced from these spinning dopes, produced both aligned and non-aligned microfiber configurations, were examined in detail. The scaffolds exhibited mechanical properties comparable to cancellous bones whereby aligned scaffolds achieved an ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 4.58 ± 0.34 MPa and a Young's modulus of 11.87 ± 0.54 MPa, while the non-aligned scaffolds exhibited a UTS of 4.27 ± 0.92 MPa and a Young's modulus of 20.37 ± 4.85. To evaluate their potential for cell-culture, MG63 osteoblast-like cells were seeded onto aligned and non-aligned scaffolds to assess their biocompatibility, cell adhesion, and differentiation, where the cell viability, DNA content, and proliferation were monitored over 14 days. DNA quantification demonstrated an eight-fold increase from 0.195 μg/mL (day 1) to 1.55 μg/mL (day 14), with a significant rise in cell metabolic activity over 7 days, and no observed cytotoxic effects. Confocal microscopy revealed elongated cell alignment on aligned fiber scaffolds, while rounded, disoriented cells were observed on non-aligned fiber scaffolds. Alizarin Red staining and calcium quantification confirmed osteogenic differentiation, as evidenced by mineral deposition on the scaffolds. This research therefore demonstrates the feasibility of this new method to repurpose laboratory polystyrene waste into sustainable cell culture tissue engineering scaffolds using eco-friendly solvents. Such an approach provides a route for cell culture for tissue engineering related activities to transition towards more sustainable and environmentally conscious scientific practices, thereby aligning with the principles of a circular economy.

A review on the characterization of edible scaffolds for cultured meat: Physical, chemical, biocompatibility, and food safety evaluation methods

Scaffolds are three-dimensional biomaterials that act as structural blueprint for cultured meat precursor cells. The advancement of scaffold fabrication techniques and the development of novel scaffolds specifically designed for cultured meat are evident in numerous scaffold-based cultured meat reports, highlighting the advantages of the scaffolds using different characterization and evaluation techniques encompassing the physical, mechanical, chemical, and biological features of the scaffolds. Considering the potential of scaffolds to be included in cultured meat products, standardization of evaluation techniques could aid in preventing misrepresentation and possible food safety concerns in cultured meat production. Thus, appropriate food safety evaluation methods must be included to properly establish scaffolds as food safe or edible. The standardization of scaffold evaluation methods could aid in increasing the dependability and consumption of scaffold-based cultured meat.

Decellularized Persian walnut leaf (Juglans regia) as a potential wound dressing scaffold: an experimental study

Introduction

Wound dressings often fall short of providing the multifunctional capabilities required for optimal wound healing, such as promoting cell migration, proliferation, and tissue regeneration. Decellularization of plant tissues has gained attention as a potential source of biomaterials for tissue engineering applications due to their favorable characteristics, including pre-existing vascular networks, interconnected porous structure, efficient water transport and retention, high surface area, and a diverse range of mechanical properties.

Methods

This study investigates the feasibility of using decellularized walnut leaves (DWL) as a novel scaffold for wound dressing in a mice model of excisional wounds. The decellularization and bleaching processes were carried out using various chemical agents. DNA and protein quantification and hematoxylin and eosin staining were performed to reveal the successful removal of cells in DWL. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to indicate that the normal structure of walnut leaves was preserved after chemical decellularization. Chemical characterization was conducted using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy to show the remaining bioactive molecules and components in the structure of DWL.

Results

Comparing tensile strength and surface roughness parameters, surface wettability, swelling, and porosity properties of native and DWL indicated no statistical differences between them. SEM analysis demonstrated that human mesenchymal stem cells excellently attach and proliferate on the DWL. Additionally, the biocompatibility and potential of DWL scaffolds to accelerate wound closure and enhance histopathological scores, collagen deposition, and epithelial thickness were observed in a mice model of excisional wounds.

Discussion

In conclusion, DWL shows promising potential for application as a skin wound dressing due to its biocompatibility, ability to promote cell attachment and proliferation, and efficacy in accelerating wound healing.

Hijacking plant skeletons for biomedical applications: from regenerative medicine and drug delivery to biosensing

The field of biomedical engineering continually seeks innovative technologies to address complex healthcare challenges, ranging from tissue regeneration to drug delivery and biosensing. Plant skeletons offer promising opportunities for these applications due to their unique hierarchical structures, desirable porosity, inherent biocompatibility, and adjustable mechanical properties. This review comprehensively discusses chemical principles underlying the utilization of plant-based scaffolds in biomedical engineering. Highlighting their structural integrity, tunable properties, and possibility of chemical modification, the review explores diverse preparation strategies to tailor plant skeleton properties for bone, neural, cardiovascular, skeletal muscle, and tendon tissue engineering. Such applications stem from the cellulosic three-dimensional structure of different parts of plants, which can mimic the complexity of native tissues and extracellular matrices, providing an ideal environment for cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. We also discuss the application of plant skeletons as carriers for drug delivery due to their structural diversity and versatility in encapsulating and releasing therapeutic agents with controlled kinetics. Furthermore, we present the emerging role played by plant-derived materials in biosensor development for diagnostic and monitoring purposes. Challenges and future directions in the field are also discussed, offering insights into the opportunities for future translation of sustainable plant-based technologies to address critical healthcare needs.

Plant-derived leaf vein scaffolds for the sustainable production of dog cell-cultured meat

Animal cell culture technology in the production of slaughter-free meat offers ethical advantages with regards to animal welfare, rendering it a more socially acceptable approach for dog meat production. In this study, edible plant-derived scaffold was used as a platform for cell expansion to construct cell-cultured dog meat slices. Primary dog skeletal muscle satellite cells (MSCs) and adipose stem cells (ASCs) were isolated and cultured as seed cells, and 3D spheroid culture in vitro promoted MSCs and ASCs myogenic and adipogenic differentiation, respectively. Natural leaf veins (NLV) were produced as edible mesh scaffolds to create 3D engineered dog muscle and fat tissues. After MSCs and ASCs adhered, proliferated and differentiated on the NLV scaffolds, and muscle and fat slices were produced with cultured dog muscle fibers and adipocytes, respectively. These findings demonstrate the potential of plant-derived NLV scaffolds in the production of cultured dog meat.

Characterization of Decellularized Plant Leaf as an Emerging Biomaterial Platform

Decellularized plants have emerged as promising biomaterials for cell culture and tissue engineering applications due to their distinct material characteristics. This study explores the biochemical, mechanical, and structural properties of decellularized leaves that make them useful as biomaterials for cell culture. Five monocot leaf species were decellularized via alkali treatment, resulting in the effective removal of DNA and proteins. The Van Soest method was used to quantitatively evaluate the changes in cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin content during decellularization. Tensile tests revealed considerable variations in mechanical strength depending on the plant species, the decellularization state, and the direction of applied mechanical force. Decellularized monocot leaves exhibited a notable reduction in mechanical strength and anisotropic properties depending on the leaf orientation. Imaging revealed inherent microgrooves on the epidermis of the monocot leaves. Permeability studies, including water uptake and biomolecule transport through decellularized leaves, confirmed excellent water uptake capability but limited biomolecule transport. Lastly, the plants were enzymatically degradable using typical plant enzymes, which were minimally cytotoxic to mammalian cells. Taken together, the features of decellularized plant leaves characterized in this study suggest ways in which they can be useful in cell culture and tissue engineering applications.

Stable cytoactivity of piscine satellite cells in rice bran-gelatin hydrogel scaffold of cultured meat

In order to achieve high cell adhesion and growth efficiency on scaffolds for cultured meat, animal materials, especially gelatin, are necessary though the disadvantages of weak mechanical properties and poor stability of their hydrogel scaffolds are present during cell cultivation. Here, we use rice bran as a kind of filling and supporting materials to develop a composite scaffold with gelatin for fish cell cultivation, where rice bran is also inexpensive from high yield fibrous agricultural by-product. The rice bran (with a proportion of 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 to 3 of gelatin) could evenly distributed in the three-dimensional network composed of gelatin hydrogel. It contributed to delaying swelling and degradation rates, fixing water and improving elastic modulus. It is important that rice bran-gelatin hydrogel scaffolds (especially the hydrogel with 70 % rice bran, db) promoted piscine satellite cells (PSCs) proliferation effectively compared to the pure gelatin hydrogel, and the former could also support the differentiation of PSCs. Overall, this work showed a positive promotion to explore new source of scaffold materials like agricultural by-product for reducing the cost of cell cultured meat production.

Recent advances in plant-derived polysaccharide scaffolds in tissue engineering: A review

As a natural three-dimensional biopolymer, decellularized plant-derived scaffolds usually comprise various polysaccharides, mostly cellulose, pectin, and hemicellulose. They are characterized by natural biocompatibility and porous structures. The emergence of decellularized purified polysaccharide scaffolds provides an attractive method to overcome the challenges associated with nutrient delivery and biocompatibility, as they serve as optimal non-immune environments for stem cell adhesion and proliferation. To date, limited corresponding literature is available to systemically summarize the development and potential of these scaffolds in tissue engineering. Therefore, the current review summarized the biomimetic properties of plant-derived polysaccharide scaffolds and the latest progress in tissue engineering applications. This review first discusses the advantages of decellularized plant-derived polysaccharide scaffolds by briefly introducing their features and current limitations in clinical applications. Subsequently, the latest progress in emerging applications of regenerative biomaterials is reviewed, followed by a discussion of the studies on the interactions of biomaterials with cells and tissues. Finally, challenges in obtaining reliable scaffolds and possible future directions are discussed.

Cellulose as a sustainable scaffold material in cultivated meat production

The rapid progress in cultivated meat research has engendered considerable attention towards the edible scaffolding biomaterials employed in the production. Cellulose has the advantages in availability, edibility, animal-free origin, etc., which show its potential in wide fields. This review begins by presenting the fundamental physical and chemical properties of cellulose from different sources, including plant and bacterial cellulose. Subsequently, we summarize the application of cellulose especially in cultivated meat and tissue engineering. Furthermore, we explore various methods for preparing cellulose-based scaffolds for cultivated meat, encompassing five specific structural variations. In the end, associated with utilizing cellulose in cultivated meat production, we address several primary challenges surrounding to cell adhesion, scaling up, processibility and mechanical properties, and provide potential innovations. This review underscores the potential of cellulose as a versatile biomaterial in the cultivated meat industry and provides insight into addressing critical challenges for its integration.

Recent advances in scaffolding biomaterials for cultivated meat

The emergence of cultivated meat provides a sustainable and ethical alternative to traditional animal agriculture, highlighting its increasing importance in the food industry. Biomaterial scaffolds are critical components in cultivated meat production for enabling cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, and orientation. While there's extensive research on scaffolding biomaterials, applying them to cultivated meat production poses distinct challenges, with each material offering its own set of advantages and disadvantages. This review summarizes the most recent scaffolding biomaterials used in the last five years for cell-cultured meat, detailing their respective advantages and disadvantages. We suggest future research directions and provide recommendations for scaffolds that support scalable, cost-effective, and safe high-quality meat production. Additionally, we highlight commercial challenges cultivated meat faces, encompassing bioreactor design, cell culture mediums, and regulatory and food safety issues. In summary, this review provides a comprehensive guide and valuable insights for researchers and companies in the field of cultivated meat production.

Unconventional strategies for liver tissue engineering: plant, paper, silk and nanomaterial-based scaffolds

The paper highlights how significant characteristics of liver can be modeled in tissue-engineered constructs using unconventional scaffolds. Hepatic lobular organization and metabolic zonation can be mimicked with decellularized plant structures with vasculature resembling a native-hepatic lobule vascular arrangement or silk blend scaffolds meticulously designed for guided cellular arrangement as hepatic patches or metabolic activities. The functionality of hepatocytes can be enhanced and maintained for long periods in naturally fibrous structures paving way for bioartificial liver development. The phase I enzymatic activity in hepatic models can be raised exploiting the microfibrillar structure of paper to allow cellular stacking creating hypoxic conditions to induce in vivo-like xenobiotic metabolism. Lastly, the paper introduces amalgamation of carbon-based nanomaterials into existing scaffolds in liver tissue engineering.

Scaffolding fundamentals and recent advances in sustainable scaffolding techniques for cultured meat development

In cultured meat (CM) production, Scaffolding plays an important role by aiding cell adhesion, growth, differentiation, and alignment. The existence of fibrous microstructure in connective and muscle tissues has attracted considerable interest in the realm of tissue engineering and triggered the interest of researchers to implement scaffolding techniques. A wide array of research efforts is ongoing in scaffolding technologies for achieving the real meat structure on the principality of biomedical research and to replace serum free CM production. Scaffolds made of animal-derived biomaterials are found efficient in replicating the extracellular matrix (ECM), thus focus should be paid to utilize animal byproducts for this purpose. Proper identification and utilization of plant-derived scaffolding biomaterial could be helpful to add diversified options in addition to animal derived sources and reduce in cost of CM production through scaffolds. Furthermore, techniques like electrospinning, modified electrospinning and 3D bioprinting should be focused on to create 3D porous scaffolds to mimic the ECM of the muscle tissue and form real meat-like structures. This review discusses recent advances in cutting edge scaffolding techniques and edible biomaterials related to structured CM production.

Scalable Processes for Culturing Meat Using Edible Scaffolds

There is increasing consumer demand for alternative animal protein products that are delicious and sustainably produced to address concerns about the impacts of mass-produced meat on human and planetary health. Cultured meat has the potential to provide a source of nutritious dietary protein that both is palatable and has reduced environmental impact. However, strategies to support the production of cultured meats at the scale required for food consumption will be critical. In this review, we discuss the current challenges and opportunities of using edible scaffolds for scaling up the production of cultured meat. We provide an overview of different types of edible scaffolds, scaffold fabrication techniques, and common scaffold materials. Finally, we highlight potential advantages of using edible scaffolds to advance cultured meat production by accelerating cell growth and differentiation, providing structure to build complex 3D tissues, and enhancing the nutritional and sensory properties of cultured meat.

Decellularised plant scaffolds facilitate porcine skeletal muscle tissue engineering for cultivated meat biomanufacturing

Cultivated meat (CM) offers a sustainable and ethical alternative to conventional animal agriculture, involving cell maturation in a controlled environment. To emulate the structural complexity of traditional meat, the development of animal-free and edible scaffolds is crucial, providing vital physical and biological support during tissue development. The aligned vascular bundles of the decellularised asparagus scaffold were selected to facilitate the attachment and alignment of murine myoblasts (C2C12) and porcine adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (pADMSCs). Muscle differentiation was assessed through immunofluorescence staining with muscle markers, including Myosin heavy chain (MHC), Myogenin (MYOG), and Desmin. The metabolic activity of Creatine Kinase in C2C12 differentiated cells significantly increased compared to proliferated cells. Quantitative PCR analysis revealed a significant increase in Myosin Heavy Polypeptide 1 (MYH1) and MYOG expression compared to Day 0. These results highlight the application of decellularised plant scaffold (DPS) as a promising, edible material conducive to cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation into muscle tissue. To create a CM prototype with biological mimicry, pADMSC-derived muscle and fat cells were also co-cultured on the same scaffold. The co-culture was confirmed through immunofluorescence staining of muscle markers and LipidTOX staining, revealing distinct muscle fibres and adipocytes containing lipid droplets respectively. Texture profile analysis conducted on uncooked CM prototypes and pork loin showed no significant differences in textural values. However, the pan-fried CM prototype differed significantly in hardness and chewiness compared to pork loin. Understanding the scaffolds' textural profile enhances our insight into the potential sensory attributes of CM products. DPS shows potential for advancing CM biomanufacturing.

The Need for Research on the Comparison of Sensory Characteristics between Cultured Meat Produced Using Scaffolds and Meat

Cultured meat is one of the research areas currently in the spotlight in the agricultural and livestock industry, and refers to cells obtained from livestock that are proliferated and differentiated and processed into edible meat. These cell-cultured meats are mainly studied at the lab-scale by culturing them in flasks, and for commercial use, they are produced using scaffolds that mimic cell supports. Scaffolds are broadly divided into fiber scaffolds, hydrogels, and micro-carrier beads, and these are classified according to processing methods and materials. In particular, a scaffold is essential for mass production, which allows it to have appearance, texture, and flavor characteristics similar to meat. Because cultured meat is cultured in a state where oxygen is blocked, it may be lighter in color or produce less flavor substances than edible meat, but these can be compensated for by adding natural substances to the scaffolds or improving fat adhesion. In addition, it has the advantage of being able to express the texture characteristics of the scaffolds that make up the meat in various ways depending on the materials and manufacturing methods of the scaffolds. As a result, to increase consumers' preference for cultured meat and its similarity to edible meat, it is believed that manufacturing scaffolds taking into account the characteristics of edible meat will serve as an important factor. Therefore, continued research and interest in scaffolds is believed to be necessary.

Biomedical Application of Decellularized Scaffolds

Tissue loss and end-stage organ failure are serious health problems across the world. Natural and synthetic polymer scaffold material based artificial organs play an important role in the field of tissue engineering and organ regeneration, but they are not from the body and may cause side effects such as rejection. In recent years, the biomimetic decellularized scaffold based materials have drawn great attention in the tissue engineering field for their good biocompatibility, easy modification, and excellent organism adaptability. Therefore, in this review, we comprehensively summarize the application of decellularized scaffolds in tissue engineering and biomedicine in recent years. The preparation methods, modification strategies, construction of artificial tissues, and application in biomedical applications are discussed. We hope that this review will provide a useful reference for research on decellularized scaffolds and promote their application tissue engineering.

Aligned skeletal muscle assembly on a biofunctionalized plant leaf scaffold

Decellularized plant scaffolds have drawn attention as alternative tissue culture platforms due to their wide accessibility, biocompatibility, and diversity of innate microstructures. Particularly, in this work, monocot leaves with innate uniaxial micropatterned topography were utilized to promote cell alignment and elongation. The leaf scaffold was biofunctionalized with poly(PEGMEMA-r-VDM-r-GMA) copolymer that prevented non-specific protein adsorption and was modified with cell adhesive RGD peptide to enable cell adhesion and growth in serum-free media. The biofunctionalized leaf supported the adhesion, growth, and alignment of various human cells including embryonic stem cells (hESC) derived muscle cells. The hESC-derived myogenic progenitor cells cultured on the biofunctionalized leaf scaffold adopted a parallel orientation and were elongated along the leaf topography. These cells showed significant early myogenic differentiation and muscle-like bundled myotube formation. The aligned cells formed compact myotube assemblies and showed uniaxial muscle contraction under chemical stimulation, a critical requirement for developing functional skeletal muscle tissue. Polymer-functionalized plant leaf scaffolds offer a novel human cell culture platform and have potential in human tissue engineering applications that require parallel alignment of cells. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Plant scaffolds are plentiful sources in nature and present a prefabricated construct to present topographical cues to cells. Their feature width is ideal for human cell alignment and elongation, especially for muscle cells. However, plant scaffolds lack proteins that support mammalian cell culture. We have developed a polymer coated leaf scaffold that enables cell adhesion and growth in serum-free media. Human muscle cells cultured on the biofunctionalized leaf, aligned along the natural parallel micro-patterned leaf topography, and formed muscle-like bundled myotube assemblies. These assemblies showed uniaxial muscular contraction, a critical requirement for developing functional skeletal muscle tissue. The biodiversity of the plant materials offers a novel human cell culture platform with potential in human tissue engineering.

An Overview of Recent Progress in Engineering Three-Dimensional Scaffolds for Cultured Meat Production

Cultured meat is a new type of green, safe, healthy, and sustainable alternative to traditional meat that will potentially alleviate the environmental impact of animal farming and reduce the requirement for animal slaughter. However, the cultured meat structures that have been prepared lack sufficient tissue alignment. To create a product that is similar in texture and taste to traditional animal meat, muscle stem cells must be organized in a way that imitates the natural structure of animal tissue. Recently, various scaffold technologies and biomaterials have been developed to support the three-dimensional (3D) cultivation and organization of muscle stem cells. Hence, we propose an overview of the latest advancements and challenges in creating three-dimensional scaffolds for the biomanufacturing of cultured meat.

Repurposing biomedical muscle tissue engineering for cellular agriculture: challenges and opportunities

Cellular agriculture is an emerging field rooted in engineering meat-mimicking cell-laden structures using tissue engineering practices that have been developed for biomedical applications, including regenerative medicine. Research and industrial efforts are focused on reducing the cost and improving the throughput of cultivated meat (CM) production using these conventional practices. Due to key differences in the goals of muscle tissue engineering for biomedical versus food applications, conventional strategies may not be economically and technologically viable or socially acceptable. In this review, these two fields are critically compared, and the limitations of biomedical tissue engineering practices in achieving the important requirements of food production are discussed. Additionally, the possible solutions and the most promising biomanufacturing strategies for cellular agriculture are highlighted.

A review on directional muscle cell growth in scaffolding biomaterials with aligned porous structures for cultivated meat production

Scaffolds suitable for use in food products are essential in cultured meat production. Simultaneously, efforts are being undertaken to strengthen the scaffolding to improve cell proliferation, differentiation, and tissue formation. Muscle cells proliferate and differentiate according to the directional patterns of the scaffold, similar to natural tissue and native muscle tissue. Therefore, establishing an aligned pattern in the scaffolding architecture is vital for cultured meat applications. Recent studies on the fabrication of scaffolds with aligned porosity structures and their utility in manufacturing cultured meat are highlighted in this review. In addition, the directional growth of muscle cells in terms of proliferation and differentiation has also been explored, along with the aligned scaffolding architectures. The aligned porosity architecture of the scaffolds supports the texture and quality of meat-like structures. Although it is difficult to build adequate scaffolds for culturing meat manufactured from diverse biopolymers, it is necessary to develop novel methods to create aligned scaffolding structures. Furthermore, to avoid animal slaughter in the future, it will be imperative to adopt non-animal-based biomaterials, growth factors, and serum-free media conditions for quality meat production.

Enhanced osteogenesis on proantocyanidin-loaded date palm endocarp cellulosic matrices: A novel sustainable approach for guided bone regeneration

Developing inexpensive, biocompatible natural scaffolds that can support the differentiation and proliferation of stem cells has been recently emphasized by the research community to faster obtain the FDA approvals for regenerative medicine. In this regard, plant-derived cellulose materials are a novel class of sustainable scaffolding materials with high potentials for bone tissue engineering (BTE). However, low bioactivity of the plant-derived cellulose scaffolds restricts cell proliferation and cell differentiation. This limitation can be addressed though surface-functionalization of cellulose scaffolds with natural antioxidant polyphenols, e.g., grape seed proanthocyanidin (PCA)-rich extract (GSPE). Despite the various merits of GSPE as a natural antioxidant, its impact on the proliferation and adhesion of osteoblast precursor cells, and on their osteogenic differentiation is an as-yet unknown issue. Here, we investigated the effects of GSPE surface functionalization on the physicochemical properties of decellularized date (Phoenix dactyliferous) fruit inner layer (endocarp) (DE) scaffold. In this regard, various physiochemical characteristics of the DE-GSPE scaffold such as hydrophilicity, surface roughness, mechanical stiffness, porosity, and swelling, and biodegradation behavior were compared with those of the DE scaffold. Additionally, the impact of the GSPE treatment of the DE scaffold on the osteogenic response of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) was thoroughly studied. For this purpose, cellular activities including cell adhesion, calcium deposition and mineralization, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and expression levels of bone-related genes were monitored. Taken together, the GSPE treatment enhanced the physicochemical and biological properties of the DE-GSPE scaffold, thereby raising its potentials as a promising candidate for guided bone regeneration.

In vitro modeling of hepatocellular carcinoma niche on decellularized tomato thorny leaves: a novel natural three-dimensional (3D) scaffold for liver cancer therapeutics

Liver cancer is now one of the main causes leading to death worldwide. To achieve reliable therapeutic effects, it is crucial to develop efficient approaches to test novel anticancer drugs. Considering the significant contribution of tumor microenvironment to cell's response to medications, in vitro 3D bioinspiration of cancer cell niches can be regarded as an advanced strategy to improve the accuracy and reliability of the drug-based treatment. In this regard, decellularized plant tissues can perform as suitable 3D scaffolds for mammalian cell culture to create a near-to-real condition to test drug efficacy. Here, we developed a novel 3D natural scaffold made from decellularized tomato hairy leaves (hereafter called as DTL) to mimic the microenvironment of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) for pharmaceutical purposes. The surface hydrophilicity, mechanical properties, and topography measurement and molecular analyses revealed that the 3D DTL scaffold is an ideal candidate for liver cancer modeling. The cells exhibited a higher growth and proliferation rate within the DTL scaffold, as verified by quantifying the expression of related genes, DAPI staining, and SEM imaging of the cells. Moreover, prilocaine, an anticancer drug, showed a higher effectiveness against the cancer cells cultured on the 3D DTL scaffold, compared to a 2D platform. Taken together, this new cellulosic 3D scaffold can be confidently proposed for chemotherapeutic testing of drugs on hepatocellular carcinoma.

Differentiation and Maturation of Muscle and Fat Cells in Cultivated Seafood: Lessons from Developmental Biology

Cultivated meat, also known as cultured or cell-based meat, is meat produced directly from cultured animal cells rather than from a whole animal. Cultivated meat and seafood have been proposed as a means of mitigating the substantial harms associated with current production methods, including damage to the environment, antibiotic resistance, food security challenges, poor animal welfare, and-in the case of seafood-overfishing and ecological damage associated with fishing and aquaculture. Because biomedical tissue engineering research, from which cultivated meat draws a great deal of inspiration, has thus far been conducted almost exclusively in mammals, cultivated seafood suffers from a lack of established protocols for producing complex tissues in vitro. At the same time, fish such as the zebrafish Danio rerio have been widely used as model organisms in developmental biology. Therefore, many of the mechanisms and signaling pathways involved in the formation of muscle, fat, and other relevant tissue are relatively well understood for this species. The same processes are understood to a lesser degree in aquatic invertebrates. This review discusses the differentiation and maturation of meat-relevant cell types in aquatic species and makes recommendations for future research aimed at recapitulating these processes to produce cultivated fish and shellfish.

Bioprocessing by Decellularized Scaffold Biomaterials in Cultured Meat: A Review

As novel carrier biomaterials, decellularized scaffolds have promising potential in the development of cellular agriculture and edible cell-cultured meat applications. Decellularized scaffold biomaterials have characteristics of high biocompatibility, bio-degradation, biological safety and various bioactivities, which could potentially compensate for the shortcomings of synthetic bio-scaffold materials. They can provide suitable microstructure and mechanical support for cell adhesion, differentiation and proliferation. To our best knowledge, the preparation and application of plant and animal decellularized scaffolds have not been summarized. Herein, a comprehensive presentation of the principles, preparation methods and application progress of animal-derived and plant-derived decellularized scaffolds has been reported in detail. Additionally, their application in the culture of skeletal muscle, fat and connective tissue, which constitute the main components of edible cultured meat, have also been generally discussed. We also illustrate the potential applications and prospects of decellularized scaffold materials in future foods. This review of cultured meat and decellularized scaffold biomaterials provides new insight and great potential research prospects in food application and cellular agriculture.

Spent media analysis suggests cultivated meat media will require species and cell type optimization

Cell culture media design is perhaps the most significant hurdle currently facing the commercialization of cultivated meat as an alternative source of dietary protein. Since media optimization for a specific culture system requires a significant amount of effort and investment, a major question remaining is whether media formulations can be easily shared across multiple production schemes for cells of different species and lineages. Here, we perform spent medium analysis to compare the specific nutrient utilization of primary embryonic chicken muscle precursor cells and fibroblasts to the murine C2C12 myoblast cell line. We demonstrate that these related cell types have significantly different nutrient utilization patterns collectively and on a per-cell basis, and that many components of conventional media do not appear to be depleted by the cells. Namely, glucose was not consumed as rapidly nor as completely by the chicken muscle precursors compared to other cells overall, and there were significant differences in specific consumption rates for several other key nutrients over the first day of culture. Ultimately, our results indicate that no one medium is likely ideal and cost effective to culture multiple cell types and that novel methods to streamline media optimization efforts will be important for the industry to develop.

In vitro Insect Fat Cultivation for Cellular Agriculture Applications

Cell-cultured fat could provide important elements of flavor, nutrition, and texture to enhance the quality and therefore expand consumer adoption of alternative meat products. In contrast to cells from livestock animals, insect cells have been proposed as a relatively low-cost and scalable platform for tissue engineering and muscle cell-derived cultured meat production. Furthermore, insect fat cells have long been cultured and characterized for basic biology and recombinant protein production but not for food production. To develop a food-relevant approach to insect fat cell cultivation and tissue engineering, Manduca sexta cells were cultured and induced to accumulate lipids in 2D and 3D formats within decellularized mycelium scaffolding. The resultant in vitro fat tissues were characterized and compared to in vivo fat tissue data by imaging, lipidomics, and texture analyses. The cells exhibited robust lipid accumulation when treated with a 0.1 mM soybean oil emulsion and had "healthier" fat profiles, as measured by the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids. Mycelium scaffolding provided a simple, food-grade approach to support the 3D cell cultures and lipid accumulation. This approach provides a low-cost, scalable, and nutritious method for cultured fat production.

Surface Modification of Decellularized Natural Cellulose Scaffolds with Organosilanes for Bone Tissue Regeneration

The utility of plant tissues as scaffolding materials has been gaining significant interest in recent years owing to their unique material characteristics that are ideal for tissue regeneration. In this study, the degradation and biocompatibility of natural cellulosic scaffolds derived from Borassus flabellifer (Linn.) (BF) immature endosperm was improved by chemical oxidation and surface functionalization processes. Briefly, thus obtained cellulosic scaffolds were sequentially processed via a detergent exchange decellularization process followed by sodium periodate mediated oxidation and organosilane-based surface modification using amino (NH₂)-terminated 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and methyl (CH₃)-terminated octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS). Post oxidation and surface functionalization, the scaffolds showed improved physiochemical, morphological, and mechanical properties. Especially, the swelling capacity, total porosity, surface area, degradation kinetics, and mechanical behavior of scaffold were significantly higher in modified scaffold groups. The biocompatibility analysis demonstrated excellent cellular adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts with an evident upregulation of mineralization. Subcutaneous implantation of these scaffolds in a rat model demonstrated active angiogenesis, enhanced degradation, and excellent biocompatibility with concomitant deposition of a collagen matrix. Taken together, the native cellulosic scaffolds post chemical oxidation and surface functionalization can exclusively integrate the potential properties of native soft tissue with ameliorated in vitro and in vivo support in bone tissue engineering for nonloading bearing applications.

Review of technology and materials for the development of cultured meat

Cultured meat production technology suggested that can solve the problems of traditional meat production such as inadequate breeding environment, wastewater, methane gas generation, and animal ethics issues. Complementing cultured meat production methods, sales and safety concerns will make the use of cultured meat technology easier. This review contextualizes the commercialization status of cultured meat and the latest technologies and challenges associated with its production. Investigation was conducted on materials and basic cell culture technique for cultured meat culture is presented. The development of optimal cultured meat technology through these studies will be an innovative leap in food technology. The process of obtaining cells from animal muscle, culturing cells, and growing cells into meat are the basic processes of cultured meat production. The substances needed to production of cultured meat were antibiotics, digestive enzymes, basal media, serum or growth factors. Although muscle cells have been produced closer to meat due to the application of scaffolds materials and 3 D printing technology, still a limit to reducing production costs enough to be used as foods. In addition, developing edible materials is also a challenge because the materials used to produce cultured meat are still not suitable for food sources.

Scaffolding Biomaterials for 3D Cultivated Meat: Prospects and Challenges

Cultivating meat from stem cells rather than by raising animals is a promising solution to concerns about the negative externalities of meat production. For cultivated meat to fully mimic conventional meat's organoleptic and nutritional properties, innovations in scaffolding technology are required. Many scaffolding technologies are already developed for use in biomedical tissue engineering. However, cultivated meat production comes with a unique set of constraints related to the scale and cost of production as well as the necessary attributes of the final product, such as texture and food safety. This review discusses the properties of vertebrate skeletal muscle that will need to be replicated in a successful product and the current state of scaffolding innovation within the cultivated meat industry, highlighting promising scaffold materials and techniques that can be applied to cultivated meat development. Recommendations are provided for future research into scaffolds capable of supporting the growth of high-quality meat while minimizing production costs. Although the development of appropriate scaffolds for cultivated meat is challenging, it is also tractable and provides novel opportunities to customize meat properties.

Nanocellulose from Nata de Coco as a Bioscaffold for Cell-Based Meat

The three-dimensional formation of bio-engineered tissue for applications such as cell-based meat requires critical interaction between the bioscaffold and cellular biomass. To explore the features underlying this interaction, we have assessed the commercially available bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) product from Cass Materials for its suitability to serve as a bioscaffold for murine myoblast attachment, proliferation, and differentiation. Rigorous application of both scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy reveals cellular details of this interaction. While the retention rate of myoblast cells appears low, BNC is able to provide effective surface parameters for the formation of anchor points to form mature myotubes. Understanding the principles that govern this interaction is important for the successful scaling of these materials into edible, commercially viable, and nutritious biomass.