Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) have developed an ingestible capsule that collects bacteria from the small intestine, providing insights into a part of the gut that conventional stool tests cannot capture.
The CORAL (Cellularly Organized Repeating Lattice) capsule, created by Khalil Ramadi, assistant professor of Bioengineering at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Tandon, and his collaborators, offers a passive, non-invasive way to sample the upper gut microbiome. The device is 3D-printed in a single step, contains no moving parts, and is designed to start sampling only after reaching the small intestine.
Published in Device, the study shows that CORAL gives a more accurate view of the small intestine microbiome than fecal samples, which largely represent bacteria from the large intestine. “Fecal samples, though easy to collect, do not accurately represent microbial communities in distinct gut regions,” said Ramadi, who leads the Laboratory for Advanced Neuroengineering and Translational Medicine at NYUAD.
The small intestine plays a key role in metabolism and immunity, hosting unique microbial populations linked to conditions such as immune and metabolic disorders. “The CORAL capsule captures bacteria that are otherwise not accessible, addressing a significant blind spot in microbiome science,” said Assistant Professor of Biology at NYUAD and co-senior author Aashish Jha. “Understanding these upstream communities could be key to early disease detection and targeted therapies.”
CORAL’s design uses mathematically defined structures to trap bacteria as it moves naturally through the digestive system.
In animal studies, the capsule collected bacterial populations from the small intestine that differed significantly from stool samples, including higher levels of beneficial Lactobacillus species.
The team is working to scale the capsule for human use and develop retrieval methods, with commercialization efforts underway through startAD’s HealthX accelerator program.
Co-authors include Sadaf Usmani, Brij Bhushan, Anique Ahmad, Oraib Al-Ketan, Ahmed A. Shibl, Maylis Boitet, and Heba Naser (NYUAD), and Devjoy Dev (NYUAD and NYU Tandon). The research was supported by the NYUAD Research Institute Award, with additional support from Al Jalila Foundation and NYU Langone’s Parekh Center. Work was conducted using NYUAD’s Core Technology Platforms.
NYU Abu Dhabi has established more than 90 faculty labs and projects, producing over 9,200 internationally recognized research publications. Times Higher Education ranks NYU among the world’s top 35 universities, making NYUAD the highest globally ranked university in the UAE.
