Chunks of lab-grown ‘chicken’ have a ‘whole meat’ texture

The production of a nugget of cultured chicken muscle – around 10 grams – has been made possible in a Japanese-developed bioreactor. The perfusable hollow fibre bioreactor acts as a circulatory system to deliver nutrients and oxygen to the artificial tissue.

“Our study presents a scalable, top-down strategy for producing whole-cut, cultured meat,” said Professor Shoji Takeuchi at the University of Tokyo, Japan and senior author of the paper.

“The system enables cell distribution, alignment, contractility and improved food-related properties. It offers a practical alternative to vascular-based methods and may impact not only food production but also regenerative medicine, drug testing, and biohybrid robotics,” he said.

Reconstruction of tissue on a large-scale tissues can be made possible by the creation of well-distributed vascular networks. Diffusion alone cannot sustain cells across very much distance – the thickness of tissue has been limited to less than 1 mm without in the absence of an integrated circulatory system – making it challenging to produce larger samples of tissue that contain densely packed cells.

“We’re using semipermeable hollow fibres, which mimic blood vessels in their ability to deliver nutrients to the tissues,” said Takeuchi.

“These fibres are already commonly used in household water filters and dialysis machines for patients with kidney disease. It’s exciting to discover that these tiny fibres can also effectively help create artificial tissue and – possibly in the future – whole organs.”

The authors built a robot-assisted assembly system to build on a 1,125-fibre Hollow Fibre Bioreactor (HFB) which produced whole-cut chicken meat weighing around 10g using chicken fibroblast cells, which make up connective tissue.

“Cultured meat offers a sustainable, ethical alternative to [farmed] meat. However, replicating the texture and taste of whole-cut meat remains difficult. Our technology enables the production of structured meat with improved texture and flavour, potentially accelerating its commercial viability. Beyond food, this platform may also impact regenerative medicine and soft robotics,” Takeuchi said.

Additional future challenges include determining the long-term effects of perfusion on tissue quality, adapting the technology for organ fabrication and biohybrid robotics, and further improving the mechanical properties and structural integrity of the tissue to better mimic the characteristics of natural muscle tissue.

“We overcame the challenge of achieving perfusion across thick tissues by arranging hollow fibres with microscale precision,” added Takeuchi.

“Remaining challenges include improving oxygen delivery in larger tissues, automating fibre removal, and transitioning to food-safe materials. Solutions may include use of artificial oxygen carriers to mimic red blood cells, bundle-removal mechanisms that efficiently remove fibres in a single operation and edible or recyclable hollow fibres.”

For further reading please visit: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.02.022