Reproducing Human Digestion with Four Bioreactors
FooDSIM uses four interconnected Getinge Applikon miniBio bioreactors to simulate the stomach, upper small intestine, lower small intestine, and colon.
The system reproduces key digestive conditions, including temperature, pH, oxygen availability, fluid transfer, and enzyme addition. Balances and pumps regulate material flows, while a hemodialysis membrane simulates nutrient absorption.
The platform follows dynamic digestion profiles, including three feeding cycles per day, enabling researchers to investigate gastrointestinal processes and gut microbiota under controlled experimental conditions.
How Lucullus® Makes Complex Digestion Processes Possible
A key highlight of the webinar is the role of Lucullus® as the central process automation software coordinating the entire FooDSIM platform.
Rather than controlling each bioreactor and auxiliary device independently, researchers use Lucullus to execute a single automated process recipe across all four interconnected vessels.
The presentation demonstrates several important capabilities:
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Parallel process automation: Coordinating multiple time-dependent operations, including feeding, digestion, and fluid transfer.
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Flexible process configuration: Defining variables such as meal size, feeding duration, pump calibration, and dialysis timing.
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Mass-controlled fluid transfer: Using balance measurements to regulate feeding and emptying while maintaining the system's mass balance.
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Dynamic pH control: Reproducing the stomach's changing acidity through programmed pH profiles, including exponential decay.
These capabilities help researchers execute complex experimental protocols consistently, reduce manual intervention, and adapt process parameters to different research requirements.
Exploring the Gut Microbiome
Beyond automation, the webinar presents how FooDSIM supports research into synthetic gut microbial communities.
Dr. Akkermans discusses ongoing experiments investigating microbial stability, population composition, and the production of short-chain fatty acids such as acetate, propionate, and butyrate.
These studies demonstrate the potential of controlled, automated digestion models to advance our understanding of food digestion and microbiome interactions.
Why watch this webinar?
This webinar will be particularly relevant for researchers and professionals working in:
- Food biotechnology and food digestion research
- Gut microbiome and microbial ecology
- Bioprocess engineering and automation
- In vitro model development
- Nutritional science and gastrointestinal research
- Pharmaceutical and oral drug development
FooDSIM demonstrates how automated bioreactor technology can integrate physiologically relevant conditions, dynamic flows, and synthetic gut microbiota into a reproducible experimental platform for mechanistic research.
Speakers
Join our panelists for a discussion and Q&A
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Dr. Simen AkkermansPostdoctoral Researcher |
Mohi AhmadiniaSr. Marketing Manager |
Arti TyagiProduct Manager |
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