Food-Gut Human Axis: Sensor Systems in an in-vitro Human Microbial Ecosystem -

Project Title: Food-Gut Human Axis: Sensor Systems in an in-vitro Human Microbial Ecosystem

Project Description:

This project aims to develop a carbon nanotube-based (CNTs) chemiresistive sensor to monitor the ammonia (NH₃) gas produced by the gut microbiota inside the colon bioreactors in in-vitro systems. The human gastrointestinal (GI) gases are closely related to diverse pathological disorders, and therefore can be used as a potential health assessment tool. Additionally, GI gases can be correlated with other important bacteria fermentation byproducts such as Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA), which are the main indicators of microbial activity and functionality. The advantage of using CNTs gas sensors instead of bulky and costly analytical techniques is that they are low cost, easy to fabricate, and can work at room temperature in real-time. The aim of the project is divided into the following objectives:

Development and fabrication of carbon nanotubes based NH₃ sensors using different printing techniques
Development and characterization of carbon nanotubes based NH₃ sensors on a simple Simulator of the Human Microbial Ecosystem (SHIME) in collaboration with the Micro4Food lab