Research on plant-based 3D-printed meat scaffolds presented in Singapore

17 August 2026 – Creating a plant-protein scaffolding for cell-based meat production is a promising research direction for scientists.

Riddet Institute PhD candidate Yuan Wang presented his research on 3D-printed scaffolds at the Singapore International Food Forum (SIFF) 2026 on 3-4 August at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Yuan is a PhD candidate in Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Auckland and supported by the Riddet Institute and the MacDiarmid Institute.

He presented his research at the “Pioneering Science and Technology for Sustainable Foods and Human Health” themed forum, which brought together researchers from academia and industry across sustainable protein, advanced food processing, food safety, and human nutrition.

Yuan’s oral presentation, titled Development of Plant-Based 3D Printed Scaffolds for Bovine Satellite Cell Maturation in Cell-Based Meat Production, described his work with scaffolds made entirely from plant protein. These are used for the growth and maturation of bovine satellite cells in laboratory grown meat.

Yuan says the research addresses a core bottleneck in cell-based meat production – providing scalable, food-grade scaffolds that support muscle cell maturation. Developing these scaffolds is a crucial step towards affordable, animal-free meat.

Yuan says the presentation was well-received, with attendees expressing keen interest in the use of fully plant-protein-based materials.

Following the forum, Yuan visited the laboratory of Professor Henry Yu at the National University of Singapore NUS, whose group works on in vitro cell culture, including cultivating meat through naturally immortalised cell lines, serum-free media, and suspension culture. The visit enabled a valuable exchange on complementary approaches: the NUS group’s strengths in cell-line engineering and suspension culture, versus the New Zealand team’s expertise in scaffolds (3D printing and microcarriers) and adherent culture. Both sides agreed to stay in touch, with further discussions planned for April next year.

Yuan also attended Flavours of Tomorrow: The Future Pantry, a public food festival co-hosted by the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein and the Singapore Science Centre, where he sampled commercially available alternative-protein foods, including plant-based meat, roasted insects, and plant-protein chips.

Yuan’s participation in the Singapore International Food Forum was supported by a Riddet Institute conference award.