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Written By
Sharmain Zain
(Marketing Lead)
Kinetic Colon-on-a-plate®
Because in gut research, When matters just as much as What and for Whom
Every product leaves a signature in the gut — a pattern of microbial shifts, metabolic activity, and chemical signals that unfolds over time. But most models only capture the final result, missing the critical changes that happen along the way.
At ProDigest, we’ve spent over 15 years developing platforms that don’t just simulate colonic fermentation — they’re designed to uncover the truth behind the gut.
And now, that journey continues — with a new model that brings timing and throughput together like never before.
That’s why every model we build is grounded in in vitro–in vivo correlation (IVIVC) — to generate data that not only looks meaningful, but proves meaningful in the real world.
A short recap of two technology platforms we have already available:
- Colon-on-a-plate® was created to meet the growing demand for robust, high-throughput, clinically relevant gut models. Compact and efficient, it uses 10 mL reactors to simulate the colonic environment across a wide range of donors and test conditions. It’s ideal for screening — delivering IVIVC-aligned readouts at 48 hours, with the scale and speed needed for early-phase research and product development.
- The Short-Term Colon®, on the other hand, was built for kinetic insight. With multiple timepoint sampling from larger 50 ml reactors, it allows researchers to observe how microbial composition and activity evolve over the course of 48 hours. It’s especially useful when the process — not just the outcome — matters: capturing cross-feeding dynamics, metabolite progression, or early onset fermentation effects. However, the technology lacks the throughput of the Colon-on-a-plate®.
Both platforms are only as powerful as the microbiota they work with. That’s where ProDigest’s Biobank comes in.
It enables the collection of fecal material from a diverse range of donors, including healthy individuals across different ages, diets, and lifestyles, as well as those with IBD, IBS, diabetes, obesity, and more. When combined with our technology platforms, it unlocks a virtually unlimited range of research possibilities.
Both Colon-on-a-plate® and Short-Term Colon® answer different questions — but what if you need both, in one?
What if you could follow the full progression of microbial activity and keep the efficiency, scalability, and clinical relevance that early-stage research demands?
What if you didn’t have to choose between throughput and timing?
That’s exactly what we’ve built — and it’s not a leap, it’s a step forward.
A new platform, built on the foundation of our most trusted, IVIVC-validated models. Designed not to replace, but to amplify what Colon-on-a-plate® and the Short-Term Colon already do best.
Introducing the Kinetic Colon-on-a-plate®
Dynamic tracking of microbial and metabolic shifts from a small volume at high throughput
A time-resolved, high-throughput platform built on the IVIVC-validated legacy of Colon-on-a-plate® — uniting small-volume scalability with multi-timepoint insight in a single streamlined system.
Kinetic Colon-on-a-plate® allows researchers to follow microbial and metabolic changes at key points during a 48-hour fermentation — typically at 6, 24, and 48 hours — using a compact 10 mL single-dose setup. There’s no need for parallel experiments or extra reactors.
It captures shifts in SCFAs, lactate, gas, pH, and microbial composition — offering a window into what happens, when it happens, and why it matters. The system accommodates luminal and mucosal environments and supports a wide range of host profiles, including age, health status, and microbiome variability. It’s also fully compatible with upstream GI digestion models.
By sampling over time from a single reactor, the platform removes the variability of multi-run setups — making it easier to compare products, study progression, and extract meaningful conclusions from every fermentation.
When paired with ProDigest’s Biobank, Kinetic Colon-on-a-plate® becomes more than a model — it becomes a flexible engine for personalized gut research, capable of capturing dynamic microbial responses across diverse populations.
To see what Kinetic Colon-on-a-plate® really unlocks, it helps to look at the evidence. The following case shows how timing revealed a microbial interaction that would have been completely missed in a static model — and why real insight often comes from following the process, not just measuring the result.
Use case: Cross-Feeding Kinetics
Objective
To evaluate how a test product influences short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production and identify microbial mechanisms driving butyrate formation.
Key Findings
- Lactate peaked early, around 10 hours, then dropped sharply.
- Butyrate began to rise while the lactate starts to decline, indicating cross-feeding.
- Acetate and propionate steadily increased throughout the fermentation period.
The standard 48-hour Colon-on-a-plate® setup effectively captures final SCFA concentrations and remains ideal for many research needs. However, because lactate was already consumed by the 48-hour mark, the cross-feeding mechanism driving butyrate production was not visible without intermediate timepoint sampling.. Lactate had already been consumed, masking the cross-feeding event entirely.
Interpretation & Relevance
The temporal sequence pointed to a clear microbial interaction: one group producing lactate, another converting it into butyrate — a mechanism critical for validating how compounds influence gut health. Without time-resolved sampling, the opportunity to detect this pathway would be lost.
Platform Advantage
Kinetic Colon-on-a-plate® enabled:
- High-resolution insight across time points
- Mechanistic understanding, not just endpoint data
- IVIVC-aligned results from a compact, single-run setup
Proof point: Time matters. And only a kinetic setup can show you why.
Use Case: Uncovering Early Gas Dynamics to Assess Fermentation Behavior
Objective
To compare the gas production profiles of three different ingredients and evaluate their potential to cause early gastrointestinal effects.
Key Findings
- At 48 hours, all three ingredients showed similarly high total gas production.
- But at 8 hours, Ingredient 2 had already caused a sharp spike in pressure, far exceeding the others.
- Ingredient 3 showed moderate gas buildup over time.
- Ingredient 1 rose slowly and steadily.
This early peak in Ingredient 2 would not have been evident from endpoint-only data, potentially overlooking its faster fermentation profile and impact on gas dynamics.
Interpretation & Relevance
Total gas output at 48 hours painted all three ingredients in a similar light. But only kinetic analysis revealed how rapidly the gas formed — a crucial insight when evaluating fermentation behavior and tolerability. Ingredient 2’s early spike served as a functional signal of more aggressive fermentation.
Platform Advantage
Kinetic Colon-on-a-plate® allowed:
- Early detection of fermentation intensity (e.g. 8h insight)
- High-throughput screening of microbial gas responses
- Consistent comparison of kinetic profiles in one run
Proof point: It’s not just how much gas is produced — it’s how fast.
Building on What Works — And Going Further
Colon-on-a-plate® set the benchmark for scalable, IVIVC-aligned gut research — and it still does. With its simplicity, flexibility, and ability to deliver meaningful outcomes at 48 hours, it remains one of the most trusted tools in early-stage development.
But when the research question shifts from ‘what happened?’ to ‘how did it unfold?’, a new layer of insight becomes essential. That’s where Kinetic Colon-on-a-plate® steps in.
It doesn’t replace the standard model. It enhances it — combining the proven strengths of Colon-on-a-plate® with time-resolved tracking that brings the full microbial and metabolic timeline into view.
From cross-feeding dynamics to gas kinetics, it’s built to follow the functional story as it happens — so you can make smarter, earlier decisions.
Same model. Same scale. Deeper insight.**
Let’s Talk
Looking to bring more insight into your next study? See how Kinetic Colon-on-a-plate® can support your research goals — from screening to substantiation.
