# Preparation of CO2‑Triggered Extrudable Chitosan for Fat Production

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new CO2-triggered chitosan gel that supports cell viability and lipid release for cultured fat production in food.

## Contribution

The novelty lies in the CO2-triggered chitosan processing and embedding of predifferentiated adipocyte pellets for cultured fat ingredients.

## Key findings

- The chitosan gel is stable and supports optimal cell viability when cells are embedded in differentiated pellets.
- The gel exhibits effective lipid release and shear-thinning behavior suitable for extrusion-based processing.

## Abstract

Cultured ingredients are becoming increasingly important
in the
food industry. However, reproducing fat ingredients remains a major
challenge. Hydrogel scaffolds are commonly used to culture cells for
regenerative purposes. Among these, chitosan is a promising material,
as it supports high cell viability. Still, its use is limited by
conventional processing in acetic acid, whose residuals hamper cell
availability and can modify food taste. Here, we propose a methodology
for processing chitosan that enables CO2-triggered structural
modulation, supporting its application as a matrix for cultured food
ingredients. For the first time, we add cells to the developed gel
by standard mixing and using a newly developed method based on embedding
predifferentiated adipocyte pellets. The findings reveal that the
gel is stable and results in optimal cell viability when the cells
are embedded in differentiated pellets. The system exhibits an effective
release of lipids, thus validating its potential for application in
edible fat-based ingredients. Moreover, the gel shows an interesting
shear-thinning behavior, paving the road for extrusion-based processing.