Life3 Biotech partners NUS Engineering in researching electrospinning tech for plant-based meat products

From left to right: Senior Research Fellow Dr Subramanian Sundarrajan and Professor Seeram Ramakrishna from the NUS Department of Mechanical Engineering, together with Life3 Biotech CEO and Founder Mr Ricky Lin, and its Head of Applied Research, Product Development Mr Theng De Sheng. Prof Ramakrishna and Mr Lin are holding a structured block made from electrospinning technology that incorporated protein fibres and collagen.

Life3 Biotech (Life3) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Faculty of Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS) to incorporate electrospinning technology into food tech. It will be a world’s first foray to integrate electrospinning into comestibles, which aims to emulate the realistic bite of fish fillet and meat jerky with plant-based protein.

Traditionally, electrospinning has been used as a technique to produce thin fibrils with a high aspect ratio in protective masks, which is crucial in the current COVID-19 situation. This partnership will pioneer new research to explore the feasibility of producing food-grade plant-based proteins using the same technology. The aim is to create nano-sized protein strands that can better mimic the texture and bite of meat, as well as improve the nutritional value of foods.

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