Biology subjects

Banavar, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Banavar, A..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Decellularized Banana Leaves: Eco-Friendly Scaffolds for Cell-Based Seafood

Cellular agriculture, as an emerging food production system, holds potential to address sustainability, food security, and agricultural resilience. Within the cell-based meat supply chain, one of the key steps is scaffolding. In this study, we assessed decellularized banana leaves, various coating materials, and different cell seeding strategies to determine their effects on cell viability, cell growth, cell alignment, and the response of the materials to thermal processing. The efficiency of decellularization was verified through DNA quantification, which decreased from 445 ng/mg in fresh banana leaves to non-detectable levels in the decellularized samples. This was further confirmed by FTIR and PCA modeling. Cell viability exceeded 98% on uncoated, soy-coated, and gelatin-coated samples of the decellularized banana leaves. Alignment of cells on gelatin-coated samples was the highest among the samples, with a dominant orientation of 65.8{degrees}, compared to soy-coated and uncoated samples with dominant orientations of 9.2{degrees} and -6.3{degrees}, respectively. In terms of quality attributes, the kinetics of shrinkage indicated that coating with soy and the presence of cells increased the activation energy due to the higher energy required for protein denaturation. Moreover, the kinetics of area changes in plain scaffolds without cells followed a first-order pattern, while with seeded cells a second-order pattern was followed. In summary, decellularized banana leaves present a sustainable and suitable biomaterial to support cells towards future needs related to meat production.

synthetic biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Investigating the Impact of Microplastics on Fish Muscle Cell Proliferation and Differentiation: Enhancing Food Safety in Cultivated Meat Production

Cultivated meat, a sustainable alternative to traditional livestock farming, has gained attention for its potential environmental and health benefits. However, concerns about microplastic contamination pose challenges, especially when sourcing cells from marine organisms prone to microplastic bioaccumulation. Additionally, the pervasive presence of microplastics in laboratory settings, ingredients, and during the production, increases the risk of unintentional contamination. This study focused on Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) skeletal muscle cell lines to examine the effects of microplastic exposure, represented by fluorescent polyethylene microspheres (10-45 {micro}m) on cell performance including cell proliferation, cell viability, gene expression, and differentiation processes critical for cultivated meat production. The results revealed significant impacts on cell attachment and proliferation at microplastic concentrations of 1 {micro}g/mL, 10 {micro}g/mL, and 50 {micro}g/mL. Notably, the 10 {micro}g/mL concentration exerted the most pronounced effects on cell viability during both attachment and proliferation phases. While the results indicated that both microplastic concentration and size influence cell viability, cell differentiation remained unaffected, and additional contributing factors require further investigation. These findings underscore the necessity of thoroughly exploring microplastic-cell interactions to ensure food safety and safeguard health within the burgeoning cultivated meat industry.

systems biology↗