Peptide-Grafted Nontoxic Cyclodextrins and Nanoparticles against Bacteriophage Infections

One of the biggest threats for bacteria-based bioreactors in the biotechnology industry is infections caused by bacterial viruses called bacteriophages. More than 70% of companies admitted to encountering this problem. Despite phage infections being such a dangerous and widespread risk, to date, there are no effectiv e methods to avoid them. Here we present a peptide-grafted compounds that irreversibly deacti-vate bacteriophages and remain safe for bacteria and mammalian cells. The active compounds consist of a core (cyclodextrin or gold nanoparticle) coated with a hydrophobic chain terminated with a peptide selective for bacteriophages. Such peptides were selected via a phage display technique. This approach enables irreversible deactivation of the wide range of T-like phages (including the most dangerous in phage infections, phage T1) at 37 degrees C in 1 h. We show that our compounds can be used directly inside the environment of the bioreactor, but they are also a safe additive to stocks of antibiotics and expression inducers (such as isopropyl beta-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside, i.e., IPTG) that cannot be autoclaved and are a common source of phage infections.

Automated summary

This study presents a novel compound that can irreversibly deactivate bacteriophages, safe for bacteria and mammalian cells, and can be applied directly in the environment of bioreactors, providing an effective method to prevent and control bacteriophage infections.