POS9-0489
Sustainable Mass-Culture System for Natural Polymer-Based Rice Cultured Meat
Topic
S9. Polymer Technology for Sustainability
When and Where
Sep 30, 2026
08:30 - 09:30
Room 301 (Grand Ballroom)
Session Chairs
Heesuk KIM
Jinhye BAE
Presenter(s)
Bumgyu Choi (Yonsei University)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Cultured meat has emerged as a promising, eco-friendly alternative to traditional livestock. However, successful commercialization strictly demands mass production and cost effectiveness, driving the ongoing optimization of core technologies, including cell lines, culture media, scaffolds, and bioreactors. Recently, utilizing edible materials as scaffolds has gained significant attention. Rice, a global staple food, exhibits a native porous structure composed of semi-crystalline and amorphous polymeric domains, making it structurally and nutritionally ideal for cell culture.
Scaling up adherent cell culture typically requires 3D bioreactors with continuous agitation to ensure the uniform mass transfer of oxygen and nutrients. However, the resulting hydrodynamic shear stress can induce severe physical damage to both cells and scaffolds. While microcarriers are conventionally employed to mitigate this, introducing macro-scale scaffolds like rice grains necessitates an entirely different bioprocessing approach.
Here, we propose a novel strategy for integrating macro-scale natural polymer scaffolds into bioreactor systems. First, we evaluated rice varieties to optimize cell compatibility. We demonstrated that the amylose content dictates the physicochemical properties of the starch polymer network, thereby critically influencing cellular behavior and adhesion. Second, we established that static culture is paradoxically the optimal strategy for scaling up rice cultured meat. This viability stems from the intrinsic elliptical morphology of rice grains, which facilitates adequate interstitial mass transfer without agitation, and their carbohydrate-rich composition, which locally supplies vital nutrients like glucose directly to the adherent cells. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that adopting a stationary mass-culture system for natural polymer scaffolds provides a highly efficient and sustainable platform for cultured meat production.
Scaling up adherent cell culture typically requires 3D bioreactors with continuous agitation to ensure the uniform mass transfer of oxygen and nutrients. However, the resulting hydrodynamic shear stress can induce severe physical damage to both cells and scaffolds. While microcarriers are conventionally employed to mitigate this, introducing macro-scale scaffolds like rice grains necessitates an entirely different bioprocessing approach.
Here, we propose a novel strategy for integrating macro-scale natural polymer scaffolds into bioreactor systems. First, we evaluated rice varieties to optimize cell compatibility. We demonstrated that the amylose content dictates the physicochemical properties of the starch polymer network, thereby critically influencing cellular behavior and adhesion. Second, we established that static culture is paradoxically the optimal strategy for scaling up rice cultured meat. This viability stems from the intrinsic elliptical morphology of rice grains, which facilitates adequate interstitial mass transfer without agitation, and their carbohydrate-rich composition, which locally supplies vital nutrients like glucose directly to the adherent cells. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that adopting a stationary mass-culture system for natural polymer scaffolds provides a highly efficient and sustainable platform for cultured meat production.
