EAGER: Elastic Electronics for Sensing Gut Luminal and Serosal Biochemical Release

EAGER：用于感测肠腔和浆膜生化释放的弹性电子器件

• 批准号: 2334134
• 负责人: Jinxing Li
• 金额: $ 7万
• 依托单位: Michigan State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-15 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2334134&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Elastic; Electronics; Sensing; Gut

Microbiota-gut-brain communication plays an important role in the progression of psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Gut serotonin, which accounts for 95% of the body's serotonin, serves as an important link between gut microbiota and the brain. However, knowledge of gut serotonin's function and impact on the enteric nervous system is limited due to the lack of proper bioelectronic tools. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is a series of soft organs with inherent motility, joined in a long and twisting tube from the mouth to the anus. As a result, biochemical sensing in the GI tract has historically been challenging because conventional bioelectronic probes are rigid and fragile. This award aims to develop a new bioelectronic tool based on tissue-like soft materials that make both the mucosal and serosal sides of the intestinal epithelium accessible to neurochemical sensing, thus allowing us to study the biochemical effect on various physiological factors. The project is expected to create a powerful research tool that will provide novel insights into the dynamics of gut serotonin and lay the foundation for the development of transformative diagnosis and treatment for patients with psychiatric disorders through intervention in the GI tract. The research thrusts will be tightly coupled with comprehensive educational and outreach components, including Biodesign course and RET projects about soft electronics, to prepare future scientists and engineers from diverse backgrounds in the highly interdisciplinary research fields of bioelectronics.This project seeks to fill the critical technology gap of accessing the gut electrically by developing a soft and elastic graphene-based bioelectric sensor array that provides robust and intimate intestinal epithelium tissue interfacing with both the mucosa and serosa, thus enabling simultaneous and multiplexed biochemical sensing during continuous gut motion. The project includes three roles: (1) Systematic examination of the electrochemical performance of nitrogen-doped graphene electrode materials for sensitive and selective sensing of multiple neurotransmitters. (2) Development of a new microfabrication process for graphene microelectrode production to create a fully soft, graphene-based microelectrode array for biochemical sensing. (3) Evaluation of the feasibility of the elastic electronic sensor arrays to be interfaced with both the mucosal and serosal sides of the gut for multiplexed and multi-channel biochemical sensing in the actively moving gut of a rodent model. The proposed research will lead to a new tool for collecting critical datasets on motility-associated temporospatial fluctuation of gut biochemicals in the actively moving intestine of rodent animals.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

微生物群-肠-脑通讯在精神疾病（例如焦虑、抑郁和神经发育障碍）的进展中发挥着重要作用。肠道血清素占人体血清素的 95%，是肠道微生物群和大脑之间的重要纽带。然而，由于缺乏适当的生物电子工具，对肠道血清素的功能和对肠神经系统的影响的了解有限。胃肠道 (GI) 是一系列具有固有蠕动性的软器官，从口腔到肛门连接在一条长而扭曲的管子中。因此，胃肠道中的生化传感历来都充满挑战，因为传统的生物电子探针刚性且脆弱。该奖项旨在开发一种基于组织样软材料的新型生物电子工具，使肠上皮的粘膜和浆膜侧均可进行神经化学传感，从而使我们能够研究各种生理因素的生化效应。该项目预计将创建一个强大的研究工具，为肠道血清素的动态提供新的见解，并为通过胃肠道干预对精神疾病患者进行变革性诊断和治疗奠定基础。研究重点将与综合教育和推广部分紧密结合，包括生物设计课程和有关软电子学的 RET 项目，为生物电子学高度跨学科研究领域的来自不同背景的未来科学家和工程师做好准备。该项目旨在填补关键技术通过开发一种柔软且有弹性的基于石墨烯的生物电传感器阵列，提供与粘膜和浆膜相接触的坚固且紧密的肠上皮组织，从而实现在连续肠道运动期间同时和多重生化传感，从而以电方式进入肠道。该项目包括三个作用：（1）系统检查氮掺杂石墨烯电极材料的电化学性能，用于多种神经递质的灵敏和选择性传感。 (2) 开发用于石墨烯微电极生产的新微加工工艺，以创建用于生化传感的全柔软、基于石墨烯的微电极阵列。 (3) 评估将弹性电子传感器阵列与肠道粘膜侧和浆膜侧连接以在啮齿动物模型的主动移动肠道中进行多重和多通道生化传感的可行性。拟议的研究将产生一种新工具，用于收集啮齿类动物活跃肠道中与运动相关的肠道生化物质时空波动的关键数据集。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力评估进行评估，被认为值得支持。优点和更广泛的影响审查标准。