PHYTOCHEMICALS ARE VITAL COMPONENTS OF BOTH RAW AND PROCESSED FOODS AND HAVE SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL TO IMPROVE HUMAN HEALTH. THE CHALLENGES OF STABILITY, DELIVERY INCLUDING LIMITED INTERACTIONS WITH GUT MICROBES ARE A SIGNIFICANT CONSTRAINT ON SHELF LIFE, QUALITY AND HEALTH IMPACT OF PHYTOCHEMICAL RICH RAW AND PROCESSED FOODS. TO ADDRESS THESE UNMET NEEDS, THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS AIMED AT DEVELOPING PROGRAMMED ASSEMBLIES OF CELL BASED CARRIERS ENCAPSULATING PHYTOCHEMICALS USING CLUSTERING OF CELLS AND 3-D PRINTING. THIS PROGRAMMED ASSEMBLY IS BASED ON THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THE PRECISE CONTROL ON INTRA-TISSUE LOCALIZATION OF PHYTOCHEMICALS WILL PROVIDE A PLATFORM TO ENHANCE STABILITY, CONTROL RELEASE, IMPROVED DELIVERY AND INTERACTIONS OF PHYTOCHEMICALS WITH GUT MICROBIOME. THE OVERALL GOALS ARE TO ENGINEER: (A) CLUSTERING OF CELL-BASED CARRIERS USING PROTEIN OR NUCLEIC ACID BASED CELL-CELL BINDING AND (B) 3D APPROACHES TO DEVELOP PROGRAMMED ASSEMBLIES OF INDIVIDUAL CELL-BASED CARRIERS OR CLUSTERS. THE INFLUENCE OF THESE FOOD GRADE MATERIALS WILL BE ASSESSED BASED ON IMPROVEMENT IN STABILITY OF ENCAPSULATED PHYTOCHEMICALS, CONTROL ON RELEASE OF ENCAPSULATED COMPOUNDS DURING DIGESTION AND ENHANCEMENT IN THEIR INTERACTIONS WITH GUT MICROBES USING BOTH IN-VITRO AND IN-VIVO MODEL SYSTEMS. SUCCESS IN THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE A PLATFORM FOR INNOVATIONS IN 3D PRINTING OF FOOD MATERIALS WITH PRECISE CONTROL ON MICROSTRUCTURES, DISTRIBUTION OF PHYTOCHEMICALS AND BIOPOLYMER COMPOSITIONS. THESE INNOVATIONS WILL SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCE FOOD QUALITY AND ITS HEATH IMPACTS BY IMPROVING THE SHELF LIFE OF FOOD PRODUCTS, CONTROLLING RELEASE OF BIOACTIVES DURING DIGESTION AND PROMOTING INTERACTIONS OF BIOACTIVES WITH GUT MICROBES.