Prebiotic Formulations with Biocompatible Microspheres for Gut Persistence

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing probiotic formulations fail to effectively prevent pathogen colonization and excessive inflammatory responses while maintaining anti-bacterial immunity, leading to short-term and long-term health issues such as neurodevelopmental deficiencies in infants and newborns.

Innovation Solution

A composition comprising biocompatible microspheres with biofilm-generating probiotic bacteria and prebiotics, which facilitate the growth and persistence of probiotics in the gastrointestinal tract, enhancing their therapeutic efficacy by providing nutritional supplementation and promoting biofilm formation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If probiotic formulations are administered to prevent pathogen colonization and excessive inflammatory responses, then health benefits are conferred, but the probiotics fail to effectively maintain anti-bacterial immunity and prevent neurodevelopmental deficiencies

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveeffectiveness of probiotic preventionVSAvoidformulation complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines probiotic bacteria with prebiotic substances and biocompatible microspheres to create a composite formulation. The prebiotics (such as human milk oligosaccharides, galacto-oligosaccharides, or fructo-oligosaccharides) work synergistically with the probiotics to enhance their survival, colonization, and therapeutic effectiveness in the gastrointestinal tract, thereby resolving the contradiction between effectiveness and formulation complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces prebiotic substances as intermediaries that facilitate the action of probiotics. These prebiotics serve as nutritional supplements that enhance probiotic survival and persistence in the gut, acting as a mediator between the administered probiotics and the host gastrointestinal environment, thus improving reliability without excessive complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If probiotic doses are increased to enhance therapeutic efficacy, then pathogen colonization prevention improves, but the duration of action and persistence in the gastrointestinal tract remain insufficient

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetherapeutic efficacyVSAvoidpersistence in gastrointestinal tract

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDuration of action of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent provides prebiotic nutritional supplementation to probiotics before and during their intended action in the gastrointestinal tract. This preliminary nourishment enhances probiotic survival, colonization efficiency, and persistence duration, allowing lower doses to achieve longer-lasting therapeutic effects and resolving the contradiction between efficacy and duration.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The combination of probiotics with prebiotics creates a continuous beneficial action in the gastrointestinal tract. The prebiotics ensure sustained probiotic viability and activity over time, maintaining therapeutic efficacy continuously rather than providing transient effects, thus addressing the duration limitation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

3Object-affected harmful factors

If probiotics are administered to limit excessive inflammation, then neurodevelopmental deficiencies are prevented, but anti-bacterial immunity is not adequately maintained

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveexcessive inflammationVSAvoidanti-bacterial immunity

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates different functional zones within the gastrointestinal tract through the probiotic-prebiotic combination. The formulation promotes anti-inflammatory effects in specific locations while maintaining anti-bacterial immunity in other areas, allowing simultaneous management of inflammation and pathogen defense through localized microbial community modulation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The composition effectively prevents neurodevelopmental deficiencies by establishing and maintaining probiotics in the gut, reducing pathogen colonization, and limiting excessive inflammation, thereby promoting neurodevelopment and gastrointestinal health.

Implementation Method 1

the prebiotic comprises, consists essentially of, or consists of a nutritional supplementation for the probiotic bacterium

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectNutritional supplementation: Fermentation

Implementation Method 2

the use of a biofilm on the surface of and/or within a microsphere provides enhanced efficacy and duration of the therapeutic response

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectBiofilm formation: Self-Assembly

Data Source

PatentUS12453747B2Prebiotic formulations for prevention of sepsis and necroenterocolitis induced neurodevelopmental deficiencies

Publication Date: 2025.10.28 RES INST AT NATIONWIDE CHILDRENS HOSPITAL

AI summary

Provided herein are methods and probiotic compositions for treating or preventing a disease or neurodevelopmental deficiency in a subject in need thereof using the compositions. Aspects and embodiments of this technology combine the health benefits of probiotic bacteria with prebiotic substances to help stimulate the exclusive growth of the probiotic species and, in one aspect, provide the bacteria in the form of a biofilm on a biocompatible microsphere.