Project Portugal 2030

Summary

The main objective of this research proposal is to establish the connection between the development of new bio-based packaging and micro/nanostructured systems as carriers of bioactive compounds, with the development of a new dynamic 3D in vitro intestinal cell model, aiming the bioavailability and safety assessment of the developed structured systems. To achieve this goal the following issues will be explored: 1) Production of micro/nanostructured systems bio-based with bioactive compounds and evaluation of their bioaccessibility on a dynamic in vitro GIT system (DIVGIS) model which simulated GIT digestion; 2) Development of a dynamic 3D in vitro intestine cell-based system (DIICS) platform prototype using a 3D cell culture (including enterocytes, mucus-secreting cells, M-cells and macrophages) suitable for delivery systems and, bioactive compounds bioavailability and cellular response (e.g., toxicity and inflammatory) assessment; 3) Exploring DIICS integration to another dynamic in vitro platform namely, a DIVGIS model, to evaluate bioavailability and toxicity of micro/nanostructured systems incorporating bioactive compounds. The proposed research project results will be a highly beneficial contribution to the state-of-the-art progress in the food sector namely on bioactive compounds-loaded micro/nanostructured systems’ bioavailability and digestibility based on dynamic in vitro solutions by gathering fundamental data on processing and safety.