PuiChing Macau iGEM 2026

iGEM 2026 · High School

PuiChing Macau

Engineering a probiotic butyrate platform for the gut-brain axis, connected by modeling, software, and precision dispensing hardware.

Enter the story Project description
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01 · The challenge

Dementia is already lived at a global scale.

In 2021, 57 million people were living with dementia. Nearly 10 million new cases occur every year.

Alzheimer's disease is the largest part of that burden.

It may contribute to 60–70% of dementia cases. By the time daily memory is severely affected, the biological story is already complex.

Our question begins earlier.

Can an engineered probiotic system support early-prevention research through the gut-brain axis, while keeping dosage logic explainable and measurable?

Source: World Health Organization dementia fact sheet

02 · The biological interface

Enter the cell.
Follow the signal.

Content content content content. Content content content content.

01 / Build

Assemble the production pathway.

Content content content content. Content content content content.

02 / Sense

Read the butyrate signal.

Content content content content. Content content content content.

03 / Regulate

Feed the signal back.

Content content content content. Content content content content.

Engineered butyrate production and feedback circuit Ptac drives HBD, CRT, and TER to synthesize butyryl-CoA. During inflammation, inducible nitric oxide synthase produces nitric oxide from L-arginine. Nitric oxide activates PNorVb to drive PTB and BUK, releasing butyrate. Butyrate activates PpchA, producing LacI that represses Ptac. ENGINEERED ECN CIRCUIT SYNTHESIS + NO GATE + FEEDBACK UPPER SYNTHESIS ARM Ptac HBD CRT TER Acetyl-CoA AcetoacetylCoA 3-Hydroxybutyryl-CoA Crotonyl-CoA Butyryl-CoA Butyrylphosphate Butyrate host HBD CRT TER PTB BUK INFLAMMATION PRODUCES NO Inflammation iNOS L-arginine + O2 L-citrulline NO NO OPENS THE RELEASE GATE NO-GATED RELEASE ARM PNorVb PTB BUK Butyrate PpchA LacI mRNA LacI less HBD / CRT / TER
Build

03 · One connected system

Model first. Coordinate second. Dispense last.

Three-dimensional required oral dose surface showing required CFU per day across lumen volume and target butyrate concentration.
Model output Required-dose surface Slides · 14
Care plan
Target band
Hold when uncertainty is high
Today08:30Ready Next checkDay 4Planned
Explainable inputs · conservative updates · clinician visibility
0.71 cm³per indexed chamber

Modeling

Turn biological assumptions into a conservative starting dose.

Our models connect CFU, production rate, and pharmacokinetic compartments. They also expose where evidence is weak instead of hiding uncertainty behind a single number.

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Software

Translate a plan into timing, measurement, and explainable decisions.

The software keeps fast control signals, safety checks, long-term validation, and cognitive screening in separate evidence chains.

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Hardware

Make the final physical action repeatable at home.

A 16-chamber rotary disk dispenses powder by calibrated volume, while the connected workflow records whether the scheduled action actually happened.

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04 · Explore the project

One brain. Eight ways in.

Our brain-themed team mascot

Built by people

The system only connects because the team does.

Meet the students, instructors, and advisors turning biology, code, modeling, design, and fabrication into one project.

Meet the team