The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

For cultivated meat, large-scale animal cell expansion is necessary on scaffolds that ensure firm attachment, fast proliferation, and easy downstream processing. High surface-area microcarriers would be useful to spread oxygen and nutrients evenly in stirred bioreactors. However, most microcarriers are inedible, and otherwise, they rely on costly peptides or animal proteins. Here, we introduce low-cost, fully edible alginate microcarriers that avoid animal inputs and pricey motifs, while mitigating culture-induced oxidative stress via controlled release of encapsulated antioxidants. Tailored surface amination imparts a gentle positive charge that helps early fibroblast attachment and survival, enabling extracellular matrix deposition that allows subsequent muscle cell cultivation. Our results demonstrate favorable charge, stable antioxidant retention, and steady ECM buildup, holding the potential for the microcarriers to serve as a sustainable and scalable platform for cultivated meat production.