Professor Park Je-young’s Joint Research Team Develops World’s First Cultured Meat Technology with Marbling as Found in Real Meat
Professor Park Je-young of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, in collaboration with Professor Oh Dong-yeop of Inha University and Dr. Kim Hyo-jeong of the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, has developed the world’s first self-healing scaffold technology which can replicate the marbling structure found in real meat.
Conventional cultured meat products primarily have a monotonous texture comprised of only muscle with no marbling. This is because muscle and fat cells are cultivated separately and cannot be combined. The newly developed technology arranges muscle and fat cells in a desired position with the help of a self-healing polymer scaffold, successfully producing cultured meat tissue that mimics the marbled structure and texture of real meat.
The research team developed a “self-healing polymer scaffold” that restores itself under physiological conditions (37°C, moisture, nutrients, etc.). This scaffold can be freely shaped into various forms, and muscle and fat cells can be cultured separately and assembled like LEGO blocks to form marbled tissue. This enables natural interface formation and fixation without the need for complex printing or bonding processes. Because it is capable of producing centimeter-scale tissues and can be applied in modular mass production, the technology can significantly improve the production efficiency of commercialized cultured meat.
The scaffold is a hydrogel composed of chemically modified chitosan (ChsB(OH)) with boronic acid functional groups and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). It features a double-network structure formed through cis-diol and hydrogen bonding. These dynamic bonds enables the self-healing function even at a neutral pH, inducing stable integration of structured cellular tissues.
A remarkable feature of this technology is its ability to realistically replicate marbling, the distinct fat grain found in real meat. The chewy texture and juiciness of meat result from the irregular arrangement of muscle and fat. The scaffold technique developed by the research team demonstrates high cell alignment and tissue stability, sufficient to mimic these complex structures. Experiments confirmed the formation of tissue closely resembling real meat marbling.
Most importantly, this technology is very applicable for industry usage. The research team developed a process that can be applied to existing cultured meat production lines, and the scaffold material is suitable for mass production as it can be developed from relatively inexpensive raw materials. It is expected that this will significantly lower the commercial barrier of cultured meat, which has thus far remained costly, reaching hundreds of thousands of won per portion in early development stages.
The research team stated, “To replicate the texture and flavor of real meat, it is essential to reproduce complex tissue structures beyond just growing cells. Self-healing scaffolds can be the key to achieving the goal.”
This research was supported by the Nano and Materials Technology Development Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), and it was published as a supporting cover paper in the June 2025 issue of the internationally renowned journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, published by the American Chemical Society (ACS).
▶Journal: ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
▶Paper title: Self-Healing Scaffolding Technology with Strong, Reversible Interactions under Physiological Conditions for Engineering Marbled Cultured Meat
▶Paper link: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c03479
▶Authors: Dr. Lam Tan Hao, Post-doctoral associate (first author, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology), Professor Park Je-young (corresponding author, Sogang University), Kim Hyo-jeong, Senior Researcher (corresponding author, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology), Professor Oh Dong-yeop (corresponding author, Inha University)
Conventional cultured meat products primarily have a monotonous texture comprised of only muscle with no marbling. This is because muscle and fat cells are cultivated separately and cannot be combined. The newly developed technology arranges muscle and fat cells in a desired position with the help of a self-healing polymer scaffold, successfully producing cultured meat tissue that mimics the marbled structure and texture of real meat.
The research team developed a “self-healing polymer scaffold” that restores itself under physiological conditions (37°C, moisture, nutrients, etc.). This scaffold can be freely shaped into various forms, and muscle and fat cells can be cultured separately and assembled like LEGO blocks to form marbled tissue. This enables natural interface formation and fixation without the need for complex printing or bonding processes. Because it is capable of producing centimeter-scale tissues and can be applied in modular mass production, the technology can significantly improve the production efficiency of commercialized cultured meat.
The scaffold is a hydrogel composed of chemically modified chitosan (ChsB(OH)) with boronic acid functional groups and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). It features a double-network structure formed through cis-diol and hydrogen bonding. These dynamic bonds enables the self-healing function even at a neutral pH, inducing stable integration of structured cellular tissues.
A remarkable feature of this technology is its ability to realistically replicate marbling, the distinct fat grain found in real meat. The chewy texture and juiciness of meat result from the irregular arrangement of muscle and fat. The scaffold technique developed by the research team demonstrates high cell alignment and tissue stability, sufficient to mimic these complex structures. Experiments confirmed the formation of tissue closely resembling real meat marbling.
Most importantly, this technology is very applicable for industry usage. The research team developed a process that can be applied to existing cultured meat production lines, and the scaffold material is suitable for mass production as it can be developed from relatively inexpensive raw materials. It is expected that this will significantly lower the commercial barrier of cultured meat, which has thus far remained costly, reaching hundreds of thousands of won per portion in early development stages.
The research team stated, “To replicate the texture and flavor of real meat, it is essential to reproduce complex tissue structures beyond just growing cells. Self-healing scaffolds can be the key to achieving the goal.”
This research was supported by the Nano and Materials Technology Development Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), and it was published as a supporting cover paper in the June 2025 issue of the internationally renowned journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, published by the American Chemical Society (ACS).
▶Journal: ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
▶Paper title: Self-Healing Scaffolding Technology with Strong, Reversible Interactions under Physiological Conditions for Engineering Marbled Cultured Meat
▶Paper link: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c03479
▶Authors: Dr. Lam Tan Hao, Post-doctoral associate (first author, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology), Professor Park Je-young (corresponding author, Sogang University), Kim Hyo-jeong, Senior Researcher (corresponding author, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology), Professor Oh Dong-yeop (corresponding author, Inha University)