Blood from slaughter pigs can substitute Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) in cultvation media and Matrigel® for cell attachment; an option for Cultivated Meat production Open Access

Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) has been used as a supplement for many years to support proliferation of cells in vitro including satellite cells. Satellite cells have been recognized as a good starting material to produce cultivated meat, where proliferation in large numbers is important to scale up the production of cultivated meat. In addition, for adherent cells, Matrigel® maintains the support and attachment to the surface. Finding alternatives to FBS and Matrigel® is pivotal for lowering the cost and environmental impact of cultivated meat production. Here we suggest the upcycling of adult animal blood from the slaughterhouses as a circular bio-resource approach. Different fractions of blood can be used to substitute FBS and Matrigel®. In the study we investigated if serum, plasma, and platelet (lysate) from 3- and 6-month-old pigs, could be used to substitute commercially available FBS, and if cryoprecipitate and/or fibrin could be used as supporting agent instead of Matrigel®. Adult animal blood serum could 1:1 replace FBS in supporting cell proliferation, and fibrin supported attachment, proliferation and differentiation as efficiently as Matrigel®, achievements that would lower the cost of cultivated meat and maintain the bio-economical circulation.