Bovine plasma alginate (bPA) gel beads as edible microcarriers for cultivated meat applications

Cultivated meat, produced by culturing cells such as myoblasts, is gaining attention as a sustainable and animal welfare-conscious alternative to conventional meat. Since a large number of myoblasts are required to produce cultivated meat, scalable culture systems need to be developed. Microcarriers, which are microscale beads providing a culture surface, offer a large surface-to-volume ratio, enabling scalable production of myoblasts. Among these, edible microcarriers made from edible materials are particularly desirable for cultivated meat to ensure food safety. However, commonly used edible materials such as gelatin and collagen for fabricating microcarriers are typically derived from animal tissues and involve animal slaughter. To address this limitation, we propose the use of bovine plasma alginate (bPA) gel beads, fabricated from plasma and sodium alginate. In this study, we first confirmed myoblast adhesion, viability, and proliferation on a two-dimensional culture surface made of bPA gel. Then microscale bPA gel beads were fabricated using a microfluidic device combined with centrifugal force by optimizing gel conditions. Finally, we demonstrated that myoblasts could adhere to and proliferate on the bPA gel beads. Therefore, bPA gel beads have potential as edible microcarriers for cultivated meat production.