Cultured Meat Bioreactor With Movable Grids for Seeding and Incubation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing cultured meat are limited by the need for separate chambers for seeding and incubation, and the inability to vary the working volume of bioreactors, which hinders efficient production and scalability.
Innovation Solution
A process and device utilizing a bioreactor with movable grids that define a seeding chamber and incubation volume, allowing both seeding and incubation to occur within the same bioreactor, with adjustable working volume, and controlled parameters such as dissolved oxygen, pH, and nutrient concentration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If separate chambers are used for seeding and incubation, then cell seeding can be performed at high concentration, but the device complexity increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the seeding chamber and incubation chamber into a single bioreactor system. The bioreactor can function as both a seeding chamber (with reduced volume) and an incubation chamber (with full volume), eliminating the need for separate chambers and the transfer step between them. This integration directly resolves the contradiction by maintaining high cell concentration capability while improving productivity through streamlined operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs movable grids that can dynamically adjust the internal volume of the bioreactor. During seeding, the grids configure the bioreactor to a smaller effective volume to achieve high cell concentration. During incubation, the grids expand the available volume. This dynamic volume adjustment allows the system to optimize for both high cell concentration and high productivity at different process stages.
2Ease of manufacture
If fixed working volume bioreactors are used, then manufacturing is simpler, but adaptability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The bioreactor incorporates movable grids that can be positioned at different heights to dynamically adjust the working volume. This dynamic mechanism allows a single bioreactor design to serve multiple volume requirements - from small seeding volumes to large incubation volumes - thereby achieving adaptability without sacrificing manufacturing simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The bioreactor is designed as a universal system that can perform multiple functions: seeding, incubation, and volume adjustment, all within a single device. The movable grids enable the same bioreactor to accommodate different process stages with different volume requirements, making the system versatile while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a process for the production of in vitro engineered tissues, also known in the art as cultured meat, cultivated meat, cell based meat, cellular meat and/or clean meat, and a device for the production of the same. The process comprises the steps of: loading sterilizable 3D scaffolds into a seeding chamber, sterilization of the scaffolds in the seeding chamber, seeding the scaffolds by loading a first volume of culture medium into the seeding chamber, wherein the first volume of culture medium has a density of cells in suspension of 5,000 to 25,000 cell/cm2, more preferably from 10,000 to 16,000 cm2 such that the scaffolds are immersed in the culture medium, leaving the scaffolds and the first volume of culture medium in the seeding chamber for a period of 2-24 hours at 18-37° C., loading a second volume of culture medium into a bioreactor, the second volume being greater than the first volume of the culture medium wherein an incubation position of one or more movable grids inside the bioreactor confines the scaffolds to the second volume of the culture medium such that they remain immersed during an incubation step, wherein the scaffolds and the second volume of culture medium are incubated in the bioreactor for a period of 10-60 days at 18-37° C. and at a pH between 6.5-8.0, more preferably 7.0-7.4. The invention also relates to a device for the production of cultured meat.