Iron-doped apatite nanoparticles for improvement of phage therapy

Interest in phage therapy is currently on the rise. As bacterial strains become more and more resistant to antibiotic treatment, research into improved and alternative methods for treating bacterial disease becomes increasingly pertinent. Bacteriophages, or simply phage, are bacteria-specific viruses that provide an alternative treatment in addition to possessing biological traits that allow them avoid bacterial resistance. The authors have found specific apatite nanoparticles exhibit an unprecedented effect on phage infections in vitro. Through the addition of 30% iron-doped apatite nanoparticles (IDANPs) to phage in solution, bacterial death zone (plaque) totals increase up to 128% higher than phage alone. These results are therefore of great interest for antibacterial applications. Extensive investigations and characterization evaluations of these IDANPs and mechanisms involved are an ongoing focus and effort of our researchers. In this article, the authors describe and document the in vitro and charac...