A Miniaturized Bionic Gut-on-a-Chip Mimicking the Structure of Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystems for In-situ Health Monitoring

Abstract

The human gut microbiome is a complex ecosystem crucial for health, yet its in-situ monitoring remains a significant challenge. Existing methods for assessing gut health, such as stool analysis, are often retrospective and fail to capture the dynamic nature of microbial interactions. There is a pressing need for real-time, non-invasive biosensors that can directly interface with the gut environment. Inspired by the structure of natural microbial ecosystems, we have engineered a synthetic four-species microbial community that mimics the metabolic cascade of the human gut. This community is integrated into a miniaturized bionic gut-on-a-chip platform. The platform utilizes a biocompatible, conductive hydrogel as an artificial intestinal mucus layer, housing the microbial consortium. The system is designed to convert specific gut metabolites, indicative of health status, into a measurable bioelectrical signal. Our gut-on-a-chip system directly converts the presence of key biomarkers into a stable electrical output, achieving a power density of up to 1.2 W·m⁻² and demonstrating high sensitivity and selectivity. The system successfully tracked metabolite fluctuations in a simulated gut environment for over 72 hours. This work presents a novel paradigm for non-invasive gut health monitoring, offering a powerful tool for personalized medicine, early disease diagnosis, and understanding the intricate dynamics of the gut microbiome. The design principles can be extended to other microbial ecosystems for various biosensing applications.