Professor Park Je-young of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Sogang University announced on the 10th that through joint research with Professor Oh Dong-yeop of Inha University and Senior Researcher Kim Hyo-jung of the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, they developed a self-healing scaffold technology capable of implementing a 'marbling' structure like real meat for the first time in the world.
Until now, cultured meat mostly featured a monotonous texture resembling a 'chunk of muscle' due to muscle and fat being cultured separately without marbling. The research team successfully created cultured meat tissues with an appearance and texture similar to real meat by arranging muscle and fat cells in desired locations using a self-repairing polymer scaffold.
First, the research team developed a 'self-healing polymer scaffold' that can restore itself even under physiological conditions (37 degrees Celsius, moisture, nutrients, etc.). The team noted, "Muscle or fat cells can be cultured separately on the scaffold, and then assembled like Lego blocks to easily realize marbled tissues," adding, "This can significantly increase production efficiency for the commercialization of cultured meat."
The research team actually recreated the marbling, which has a meaty shape, using the scaffold cultivation method. The unique chewiness and juiciness of meat arise from the irregular arrangement of muscle and fat. The team's scaffold demonstrated a high level of cell alignment and tissue stability capable of mimicking this complex structure, confirming that a tissue close to the marbling of real meat was formed through experiments.
The research team developed a process that can be applied to existing cultured meat production lines. The scaffold material can be produced from relatively inexpensive raw materials, making it favorable for mass production. It is expected to significantly lower the commercialization barrier for cultured meat, which initially cost hundreds of thousands of won per piece.
The research team stated, "To replicate the texture and taste of real meat, it is necessary to go beyond simply cultivating cells to recreate complex tissue structures," adding, "Self-healing scaffolds may be the key to achieving that."
The research results were first published online on the 3rd of last month in the international journal 'ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces' published by the American Chemical Society, and were also selected as the front cover paper for the June issue.
References
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c03479