Compression bioreactor for cultured meat

Current Research in Food Science, vol. 13, pp. 101497

Abstract

Cultured meat is emerging as a sustainable and ethical alternative source of dietary protein. However, the commercial viability of cultured meat is fundamentally constrained by prolonged tissue maturation timelines and the high energy demands of conventional, motor-driven electronic bioreactors. To address these bottlenecks, this study introduces a novel, scalable, magnetic-valve controlled pneumatic compression bioreactor, which utilizes a mechanically tunable magnetic circuit to deliver precise cyclic compression without internal electronic sensors or digital feedback loops. We evaluated the system's biological efficacy by applying cyclic compressive strain (10% strain, 0.27 Hz, 1 h/day) to murine C2C12 myoblasts cultivated on scaffolds. Optical motion tracking validated the device's kinematic stability and stroke-to-stroke repeatability during continuous operation. Biological assays confirmed that passive pneumatic actuation dampened the impact forces, maintaining high cell viability comparable to static controls. Mechanical stimulation profoundly accelerated early myogenesis, inducing a highly significant 2.93-fold upregulation of the master transcriptional regulator MyoD within just 3 days. These findings demonstrate that precise mechanotransduction can replace prolonged static culture and reduce the industry's reliance on exogenous biochemical growth factors. Ultimately, this novel bioprocessing paradigm offers a sustainable, highly scalable framework to accelerate tissue organization and reduce operational costs in industrial cultured meat manufacturing.

Authors 4

1. Kuo‐Hui Chiu corresponding

   Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology

   Affiliation as printed

   Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Aachen, 52074, Germany

2. Simon Vogel

   Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology

   Affiliation as printed

   Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Aachen, 52074, Germany

3. Stefan Schillberg Aachen Institute for Molecular Biotechnology

   Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Aachen, 52074, Germany

   Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, 52074, Germany

4. Che Julius Ngwa

   Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology

   Affiliation as printed

   Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Aachen, 52074, Germany