Human gut microbiota on gut-on-a-chip
Goc-MM consists of minimal functional portion of gut cultured in a microfluidic devices, gut-on-a-chip, that mimics the environment of intestine. The new gut-on-a-chip that we would produce with this project will be advanced from previous model because of the use of non-absorbed materials with a low production cost and easier to industrialize.  This study is focused on culturing and studying human gut-microbiota phyla composition from fecal samples of healthy subjects and both obesity and anorexic patients. Gut microbiota provides nutrients and energy for the host through the products of substrate fermentation in Short Chain Fatty Acids. The motivation that leads us to get involved in this project is to provide to scientific community and industries a convenient and standardized methodology of isolation and cultivation of microbiota from human fecal microbiota transplantation.  Goc-MM would supply an experimental model that provides epithelial cells and microbiota to be cultured in presence of physiologically relevant flow and peristalsis like mechanical deformations, which promotes formation of epithelial cells of small intestine. Thanks to the clinical approach of Goc-MM, we will evaluate the different characteristic in the obesity on male and female. Targeting microbiota may represent a new perspective to prevent, reverse or treat obesity, anorexia and other metabolic disorders.