Replicating the structure of real meat remains one of biotechnology’s toughest challenges. Growing animal cells is no longer the issue — giving them the fibrous texture of muscle still is.
We interviewed the inventor behind a new patent from DWI Aachen that proposes an elegant, scalable solution: spinning living fibers that grow into tissue from the inside out.
The idea in short: Producing cell-containing edible fibers by co-spinning living cells, edible microcarriers, and a gel-forming compound through a core–shell nozzle. The result is a hollow fiber where cells grow within a protected, oxygen-rich environment and gradually fill the interior. Over time, the cells align naturally along the fiber’s length — just like real muscle. (WO2025202515A1)
Turning Materials Science into Food Engineering
For Rahman Omidinia Anarkoli, research scientist at DWI Leibniz, the idea began with a familiar insight: biology already knows how to grow 3D tissues — but scaling those methods for food hasn’t been solved.
“The inspiration came from recognizing a gap, not in biology, but in how it’s applied,” Omid says. “Our goal was to rethink the engineering around it — to make it practical, efficient, and scalable.”
His team drew from the textile world, adapting fiber-spinning techniques to handle living materials. The fibers function as both scaffolds and micro-bioreactors, giving cells space, nutrients, and protection while allowing automated, continuous production — a sharp contrast to the batch-based methods common in cultivated meat.
From Scaffold to Living Strand
“Using fibers to mimic muscle isn’t new,” Omid explains, “but what clicked was realizing that fibers could be biologically functional, not just structural.”
Unlike top-down scaffold approaches that first create a matrix and later seed it with cells, DWI’s method is bottom-up — the cells are part of the material from the start. They self-organize inside the fiber, reducing handling steps and boosting efficiency. Each strand becomes a self-contained growth environment that can later be bundled with others into textured, marbled structures.
A More Affordable Platform for Scale
Because cells grow at high density within the fibers, the process promises lower costs and smaller footprints compared to stirred-tank bioreactors. “We’re essentially offering an alternative to classical bioreactors, one that yields more per volume and naturally forms structure,” says Omid.
The team is now testing different cell types and fiber properties and is open to industrial partnerships. “Collaborating with companies helps us validate the system under real conditions and move faster toward an affordable, meat-like product,” he adds.
New Potential for Biofabrication
Every time the technology is shown to new audiences, unexpected possibilities appear — from fermentation to tissue-based ingredients. “It’s exciting to realize that something designed for food could have an impact far beyond what we imagined,” says Omid.
He sees the field evolving toward a merger of disciplines: “Food production is becoming more like biomanufacturing, and biotechnology is starting to think in food-grade, scalable terms. The most meaningful innovations will come from that overlap — systems that are biologically sophisticated but practical for production.”
Congratulations to Rahman Omidinia Anarkoli and Laura De Laporte for advancing a promising new path toward structured cultivated meat. Want to know more, or interested in collaborating or investing?
Reach out directly via: [email protected]
What do you think — could spinning living fibers be the bridge between tissue engineering and food manufacturing? Share your thoughts below the LinkedIn Post
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