Development of an evaluation platform for growth factors for the production of cultivated meat
The traditional production of meat from livestock farming and fishing results in notable environmental repercussions, including but not limited to biodiversity depletion, water pollution, and the emission of greenhouse gases. One approach to addressing this issue is cultivated meat, produced through cell culture techniques. Various companies have already presented products produced in the laboratory and at pilot scale in recent years, but mass-market implementation has not yet been achieved. There are also technological challenges to overcome to enable large-scale production of cultured meat, in addition to supply chain, legal, and various socio-economic requirements.
One central challenge is ensuring the availability of economically feasible and bioactive growth factors for large scale production. This media component is required for cell proliferation and differentiation. To ensure the bioactivity of native and tagged growth factors, as well as partially synthetic or modified sequence variants, suitable testing systems are necessary. To enable a reliable assessment of future performance, testing systems are needed to simulate cell growth in bioscaffolds with varying characteristics such as porosity, polymerization degree, and diffusion properties under real-world conditions.
Perfusion bioreactor modules are being developed using 3D printing techniques to accomplish the addressed challenges. These modules are designed to provide a controlled environment for growing tissue and to observe various scenarios of growth factor utilization in different bioscaffold configurations. In our scale-down approach investigation of small quantities of alternative growth factors under real-world conditions is facilitated and supports the development of a future industry dedicated to cultivated meat production.
If you are an ambitious, passionate, and highly motivated student interested in expanding your knowledge in this area of research, please contact marie.schlieker(at)tum.de for further details. Applications for Bachelor's and Master's theses and research internships are welcome.
Strategies for Recycling Medium in Cell Culture to enable resource efficiency
Another contribution to a more sustainable process in cultured meat is the development of a recycling process for the perfusion bioreactor. In a perfusion system, a larger amount of media is used to ensure optimal growth conditions for the cells. With the higher media flow through it is making sure, that there is no accumulation of toxic and growth inhibiting catabolites, like ammonia or lactate and enough nutrients for the cells. Therefore the media consumption is relatively high. Instead of discarding undepleted media, recycling allows for proportionally reuse of media. Thereby addressing the challenge of an efficient use of growth factors and reducing the cost of media.
The findings of the established strategies will be used to optimize the operation of perfusion bioreactors and the associated process models, control and monitoring strategies. All those findings will be compiled in a kind of toolbox to provide a scientific and technical basis or platform for future process designs and developments in the field of cultivated meat.
If you are an ambitious, passionate, and highly motivated student interested in expanding your knowledge in this area of research, please contact laurenz.koehne(at)tum.de for further details. Applications for Bachelor's and Master's theses and research internships are welcome.
Advanced LCA and TEA Methodologies for Technical Evaluation of Cultivated Meat
The research project integrates a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) of cultivated meat. The objective is to compare the environmental and economic impacts of various protein sources, including cultivated meat, precision fermentation, and traditional farming. Key elements of the project include:
- Utilizing real-life data to assess the environmental impact and energy requirements of each protein source.
- Critically analyzing existing LCA assumptions about cultured meat and updating them with current, realistic data.
- Conducting scenario analyses to explore how different assumptions affect LCAs and using Monte Carlo simulations for predicting future CM emissions.
- Adhering to ISO14044 standards, focusing on assessing energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and land use in CM production.
The outcome aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the environmental and economic implications of various protein sources, contributing to informed decision-making in sustainable food production.
If you are an ambitious, passionate, and highly motivated student interested in expanding your knowledge in this area of research, please contact katharina.brenner(at)tum.de for further details. Applications for Bachelor's and Master's theses and research internships are welcome.