Grant: Alliance Grants

Addressing the global health challenge of cancer, this project will explore the innovative use of bacteriotherapy for targeted cancer treatment through the bloodstream. Although progress has been made in this area, the complex interaction between hydrodynamic effects and bacterial properties, such as blood cell dynamics and cellular motility in blood environments, remains largely unexplored. Our multidisciplinary team will aim to develop genetically modified bacteria to better understand these dynamics and contribute to the improvement of bacteriobots - entities inspired by bacteria - as potential therapeutic delivery agents in tumor environments. Using microfluidic devices and microPIV technology, we will study bacterial motility under conditions simulating blood flow and tumor microenvironments. This research aims to lay the foundation for future advances in bacteriobots for cancer therapy, contributing to a deeper understanding of their potential as targeted treatment agents. The project aims to design and synthesize bacteria with enhanced motility capabilities to effectively target synthetic synthetic tumor cell environments. The project is divided into three sub-projects led by experts in molecular and synthetic biology, physical engineering, and fluid dynamics. The first sub-project focuses on the design and synthesis of bacteria with variations in flagellar number, fluorescent characteristics, and refined sensory systems to create a library of diverse bacterial behaviors. The second sub-project focuses on the characterization of individual and collective bacterial swimming using microfluidic devices that generate quasi-static flow conditions to evaluate in detail bacterial motility and chemotaxis. Finally, the third sub-project focuses on the study of bacterial dynamics in blood and how blood properties, such as red blood cell concentration, aggregation, and deformability, affect bacterial movement. The project integrates an international collaboration to provide enriching learning experiences for research students and promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in the research environment.