Nutraceutical biopolymeric-biocatalytic microbot against gut inflammatory disorders

gBiOT proposes an innovative technology that could be applied in nutraceuticals and foods with therapeutic benefits for the gastrointestinal tract, based on micro-robotics. Despite the great advances of the last decades, today micro-robotics are still unexplored and far from the real application. gBiOT aims to help bridge that gap with reality, addressing some of the still unexplored challenges in the design of micro-robotic devices to accelerate their introduction in market solutions. For this, the proposal focuses on a concrete and important case study, gut disorders (GD). gBiOT will be implemented in 7 tasks covering the development of a modular microbot prototype for addressing GD; exploring the loading and release capacity with two natural bioactive compounds from watercress and citrus (which will also be produced sustainably through the valorization of agri-food by-products); evaluating the effect of in vitro gastrointestinal conditions on MB; testing in vitro the microbot–microbiota interaction; and testing the safety and effectiveness of the microbot carrying specific compounds in cell models and in vivo preclinical tests.