We previously reported the development of a three-dimensional cellulosic sponge capable of constraining hepatocytes within macropores to support the rapid formation of organoids with preserved ...hepatocyte functions for hepatotoxicity testing applications. Fabrication of this macroporous sponge involves conjugating allyl groups onto hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) to serve as crosslinking sites during gamma irradiation following thermally-induced phase separation. However, this method requires the use of moisture-sensitive reagents and unstable organic solvents which introduces batch-to-batch variability. To address this problem, we developed a cellulosic sponge system which replaces the use of allyl groups as cross-linkers with methacrylic groups to generate methacrylic-HPC (MA-HPC) under fully aqueous conditions. The resulting MA-HPC sponge contains macropores (94 ± 8 μm, 90% porosity) to constrain cells to form organoids, and has an average elastic modulus of 8.5 kPa that is close to the modulus of native rat and human livers. We demonstrate that similar to the allyl-based sponge, the MA-HPC sponge reliably supports human hepatocyte organoid culture and maintains high level cellular functions for at least 1 week in culture, thereby providing a reliable alternative to the existing allyl-based sponge for organoid culture.
Cell-based meats have arose substantial interest due to the promotion of these products as cleaner and sustainable alternatives to conventional meats. We identify the most notable ambiguities ...surrounding the nomenclature of cell-based meats and summarize current discussions around it. Notable ambiguities include: whether cell-based meat can be called “meat”; identifying the most descriptive and appealing name for cell-based meat; the nomenclature of cell-based meat products with different levels of complexity; and the standards cell-based meats need to meet before claiming to be cleaner and more sustainable than conventional meat. The need to clarify ambiguities is crucial to facilitate discussions, enhance investor interests, build consumer confidence and prevent any future strife with traditional farming.
•Clarifying nomenclature is imperative to facilitate future discussions.•Meat has a standard of identity, but modifiers can distinguish it from substitutes.•Cell-based meat can be categorized into processed meat, minced meat and meat cuts.•Standards for claims are important to establish consumer confidence.
Recent efforts for cell-based meat cuts focus on engineering edible scaffolds, with visual cues which are key to enhancing consumer acceptance, receiving less attention Here, we employed artificial ...intelligence (AI)-based screening of potential plant materials and discovered that jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) has the natural structures to recapitulate marbling visuals of meat cuts. Plant tissue compositions are exploited for its differential polyphenol adsorption to produce complex marbling patterns. A one-step colour control method by varying oxidation and incubation conditions of polyphenols was developed to produce permanent meat-like colours resembling chicken, pork, and beef. The scaffold exhibits a meat-like browning behaviour when cooked and is shown to support high-density porcine myoblasts culture without masking the marbled appearance. Surveys with 78 volunteers found that marbled jackfruit scaffolds improved consumer perception of cell-based meat by ∼8%. Our approach of combining AI, tissue engineering, and sensory science unlocks the possibility of creating a range of novel cell-based meat cuts with consumer focus.
