May 17, 2023
Seawith Technology Story Part 3! Today, let's talk about cell scaffolds.
Traditionally, in life science laboratories, cells are grown on the surface of flat dishes in a single layer. This is referred to as 2D culture. However, our living organisms are formed through multiple layers of cells, influenced from all directions in three dimensions. Therefore, 2D culture has received criticism for not properly mimicking life, and it has been reported that cell shape, signal transmission, and gene expression differ when compared to 3D culture.
I might have delved into the technical aspects of life science, but let's return to cultured meat. Cultured meat, being thick and densely populated with cells, requires 3D culture. To achieve 3D culture, a framework or scaffold is needed for cells to grow upon, providing support. This framework or scaffold is today's protagonist, the "cell scaffold" or "cell support structure," also known by various terms such as "scaffold" or "matrix."
Various cell scaffolds have been developed in the past. However, existing cell scaffolds were too expensive to be used in cultured meat production and lacked the safety guarantee required for food applications. That is why Seawith has been striving to create an affordable cell scaffold that is safe for consumption and commercially viable for cultured meat. The result of our efforts is the ACe-gel (Algae-based Cell culture gel), which can be eaten and used as a cell scaffold for cultured meat.
Initially, we delicately handled individual pieces of seaweed to create the scaffold. However, now we have reached the point where we can produce large quantities of ACe-gel at once. It can be shaped and formed freely according to desired specifications.
Furthermore, ACe-gel has various applications beyond cultured meat, which has attracted interest from companies requiring cell scaffolds. As much as I'd like to provide more detailed technical information, we need to refrain from disclosing our technology! 😂 It seems I got carried away with boasting, so let's conclude today's technology story here. The one-line summary for today is "To grow cells in 3D, cell scaffolds are necessary, and Seawith has achieved the feat of developing affordable and safe cell scaffolds using seaweed. 👏"
I will return with more technology stories in the future. Thank you.