Phage Therapy A Practical Approach

This book gives a detailed yet clear insight into the current state of the art of the therapeutic application of bacteriophages in different conditions. The authors bring in their practical expertise within their respective fields of expertise and provide an excellent overview of the potential and actual use of phage therapy. Topics like economic feasibility compared to traditional antibiotics and also regulatory issues are discussed in far detail. This new volume is therefore a valuable resource for individuals engaged in the medical application of novel phage therapies.

Phage display has become established as a powerful protein engineering method for identifying polypeptides with novel properties, and altering the properties of existing ones. Although the technique is widely used in biological research and drug discovery, it remains technically challenging, and new applications and procedures continue to evolve. Phage Display - A Practical Approach is an up-to-date, comprehensive and integrated experimental guide to the technique, useful for novice and expert alike. The book aims to enable researchers to design and undertake all aspects of a phage display project, from designing an experimental strategy and constructing a library to performing selections and analyzing the results. An introductory chapter provides an overview of phage biology and phage display, including guidelines for planning a successful phage display experiment. Individual chapters provide protocols for constructing libraries using oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis or DNA recombination, performing binding selections, and analyzing the binding activities of selected phage clones. Separate chapters then cover common applications, including selection of ligands from peptide libraries, generation of phage antibody libraries and isolation and optimization of antibodies, selection of DNA binding proteins, and expression cloning using cDNA display. Further chapters describe alternative selection strategies, such as selection using immune sera, selection based on enzymatic activity or protein stability, and selection in vivo. Protocols and chapters are extensively cross-referenced, allowing readers to move beyond the specific examples given to customize the procedures to their own protein or selection system of interest. Written by experts in the field, Phage Display - A Practical Approach provides a comprehensive guide to the design and execution of phage display projects, for all those using the technique in basic research and drug discovery.

Alternative treatment modes for antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens have become a public health priority. Bacteriophages are bacterial viruses that infect and lyse bacterial cells. Since bacteriophages are frequently bacterial host species-specific and can often also infect antibiotic-resistant bacterial cells, they could represent ideal antimicrobials for fighting the antibiotic resistance crisis. The medical use of bacteriophages has become known as phage therapy. It is widely used in Russia, where phage cocktails are sold in pharmacies as an over-the-counter drug. However, no phage product has been registered for medical purposes outside of the former Soviet Union. The current Special Issue of Viruses contains a collection of papers from opinion leaders in the field who explore hurdles to the introduction of phage therapy in western countries. The articles cover diverse topics ranging from patent to regulatory issues, the targeting of suitable bacterial infections, and the selection and characterization of safe and efficient phage cocktails. Phage resistance is discussed, and gaps in our knowledge of phage–bacterium interactions in the mammalian body are revealed, while other articles explore the use of phages in food production and processing.

Phage display has become established as a powerful protein engineering method for identifying polypeptides with novel properties, and altering the properties of existing ones. Although the technique is widely used in biological research and drug discovery, it remains technically challenging, and new applications and procedures continue to evolve. Phage Display - A Practical Approach is an up-to-date, comprehensive and integrated experimental guide to the technique, useful for novice and expert alike. The book aims to enable researchers to design and undertake all aspects of a phage display project, from designing an experimental strategy and constructing a library to performing selections and analysing the results.

This first major reference work dedicated to the mannifold industrial and medical applications of bacteriophages provides both theoretical and practical insights into the emerging field of bacteriophage biotechnology. The book introduces to bacteriophage biology, ecology and history and reviews the latest technologies and tools in bacteriophage detection, strain optimization and nanotechnology. Usage of bacteriophages in food safety, agriculture, and different therapeutic areas is discussed in detail. This book serves as essential guide for researchers in applied microbiology, biotechnology and medicine coming from both academia and industry.

Biotherapy is defined as the use of living organisms in the treatment and diagnosis of human and animal diseases. This volume is an evocative exploration of the history, scientific basis and practical use of the major biotherapy modalities. The authors provide researchers and practitioners interested in this field, with cutting-edge material on the latest key advances in the following fields of biotherapy: Maggot Therapy, Hirudotherapy, Bee Venom Therapy, Apitherapy, Ichthyotherapy, Helminth Therapy, Phage Therapy, Animal Assisted Therapy, Canine Olfactory Detection. In addition, the authors provide with their chapters an extensive bibliography that represents a state-of-the-art survey of the literature. Comprehensive and current, this fresh volume of reviews is an essential resource for professionals who need to stay ahead of the game in the exciting field of biotherapy.

Harnessing the Power of Viruses explores the application of scientific knowledge about viruses and their lives to solve practical challenges and further advance molecular sciences, medicine and agriculture. The book contains virus-based tools and approaches in the fields of: i) DNA manipulations in vitro and in vivo; ii) Protein expression and characterization; and iii) Virus- Host interactions as a platform for therapy and biocontrol are discussed. It steers away from traditional views of viruses and technology, focusing instead on viral molecules and molecular processes that enable science to better understand life and offer means for addressing complex biological phenomena that positively influence everyday life. The book is written at an intermediate level and is accessible to novices who are willing to acquire a basic level of understanding of key principles in molecular biology, but is also ideal for advanced readers interested in expanding their biological knowledge to include practical applications of molecular tools derived from viruses. Explores virus-based tools and approaches in DNA manipulation, protein expression and characterization and virus-host interactions Provides a dedicated focus on viral molecules and molecular processes that enable science to better understand life and address complex biological phenomena Includes an overview of modern technologies in biology that were developed using viral components/elements and knowledge about viral processes

Phage Therapy - Part A, Volume 200 is an informative text on phage and their use for treatment in bacterial infections. The book highlights a number of aspects of the phage in a way that can help students, researchers, clinicians, entrepreneurs and stakeholders perform their research with great interest. Chapters in this new release cover An introduction to bacteriophage and their therapeutic applications, Isolation, screening and characterization of phage, Synthetic phage and their application in phage therapy, Phage engineering for development of diagnostic tools, Phage design and directed evolution to evolve phage for therapy, and more. Additional sections cover Host-phage interactions and modelling for therapy, Phage and phage cocktails formulations, Phage for treatment of Escherichia coli infection, Phage for treatment of Klebsiella pneumoniae infection, Phage for treatment of Salmonella spp infection, Phage for treatment of Staphylococcus aureus infection, and Phages for treatment of Acinetobacter baumannii infection. Includes discussions on phage isolation, screening and characterization Covers synthetic phage, phage for diagnostic, directed evolution and host interaction Presents the latest on phage for treatment of bacterial infections