Smart capsule for non-invasive sampling and studying of the gastrointestinal microbiome

Abstract

Gut microbiota plays an important role in host physiology such as obesity, diabetes, and various neurological diseases. Thus, microbiome sampling is a fundamental approach towards better understanding of possible diseases. However, conventional sampling methods, such as endoscopies or colonoscopies, are invasive and cannot reach the entire small intestine. To address this need, a batteryless 3D-printed sampling capsule, which can collect microbiome samples throughout the entirety of the GI tract was designed. The capsule (9 mm  15 mm) consists of a 3D printed acrylic housing, a fastabsorbing hydrogel, and a flexible PDMS membrane. Fluids containing samples of the microbial flora within the GI tract enter the device through a sampling aperture on the cap of the device. Once the microbiome enters the housing, the hydrogel absorbs the fluid and swells, effectively protecting the samples within its polymeric matrix, while also pushing on the flexible PDMS membrane to block the sampling aperture from further fluid exchange. The retrieved capsule can be readily disassembled due to the screw-cap design of the capsule and the hydrogel can be removed for further bacterial culture and analysis. As a proof of concept, the capsule's bacterial sampling efficiency and the ability to host microbial samples within the hydrogel in a sealed capsule were validated using a liquid culture containing Escherichia coli. The demonstrated technology provides a promising inexpensive tool for direct sampling and assessment of microbes throughout the GI tract and can enable new insights into the role of diet in mediating host-microbe interactions and metabolism.

Developmental differences in the intestinal microbiota of Chinese 1-year-old infants and 4-year-old children

“…As is known, the fecal microbiota does not fully represent the luminal or mucosal communities of the GI tract 49 , 50 . Although previous study revealed that fecal microbial community has a good potential to identify most taxa in the chicken gut 51 , non-invasively sampling at different gut locations would be preferred, and recently developed smart sampling capsule would achieve this goal 52 . Another limitation of our study is lacking of paying attention to the factors influencing the development of intestinal microbiota in children, such as breast milk feeding, dietary habits and antibiotic use.…”

A biodegradable chipless sensor for wireless subsoil health monitoring

“…The structure of the sensor comprises a conductive metal trace encapsulated between two layers of biodegradable polymeric material. To achieve scalable manufacturing of the sensors, 3D printing 38 , 39 and laser processing 40 , 41 have been widely employed in previous studies. As shown in Fig.…”

Associations between self-reported psychological symptom severity and gut microbiota: further support for the microgenderome

“…There are also several sampling methods for gut microbiota including stool sampling (most common) and biopsy, among others, with Tang et al [ 132 ] calling for more precise measures of GM that are able to be used in large scale research and in healthy controls. This will inevitably be enabled by technological advances, as evidenced by the development of smart capsules, which hold promise as non-invasive accurate measures of intestinal microbiota [ 132 , 133 ]. Going forward, efforts must be made for more standardised testing procedures.…”