Microbial encapsulation in formulations and microfluidics for factory-on-a-chip applications.

In industrial biotechnology, testing high throughput or new processes can be very challenging. A great demand exists for tools, which can provide the ability to rapidly test different parameters before being able to use them in upscaling. Microfluidic technology can be utilized perfectly for such goals. The project will investigate microfluidic-assisted compartmentalization of bacteria in food formulations for controlling microbial interactions, in lab-on-a-chip applications. Development of multistage microfluidic setups will be used to simulate a factory on a chip for food processes.
There is need for formulations delivering multiple microbial species in high throughput lab-on-a-chip devices assisting microbiological diagnostics; however, their development is challenged by the different conditions required for each microbial species, the compartmentalization needed within the formulation to avoid interference and the stability of these systems. Different formulations will be one of the things to be investigated in the project.
Moreover, the project will focus on systems containing different kind of bacteria in the developed formulations, investigating bacteria-bacteria and bacteria-matrix interactions and develop mechanisms of controlled bacterial release. Responses of bacteria in different treatments e.g. thermal gradient, will also be investigated in parallel with different fabrication methods of the chips e.g. soft lithography, 3D printing. We will aim to develop modelling tools for describing our laboratory observations and predicting interactions in untested formulations.
Standardizing such formulations will advance applications of microorganisms in lab-on-a-chip devises. Furthermore, understating interactions and controlling release of bacteria in different formulations, will allow upscaling to industrial processing and utilization of multiple microbial species in food processes.