The Influence of Polyanions and Polycations on Bacteriophage Activity

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Bacteriophage Effectiveness for Biocontrol of Foodborne Pathogens Evaluated via High-Throughput Settings
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Bacteriophage Effectiveness for Biocontrol of Foodborne Pathogens Evaluated via High-Throughput Settings

Published on: August 19, 2021

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Egor V Musin1, Aleksandr L Kim1, Alexey V Dubrovskii1

  • 1Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics, Russian Academy of Science, Institutskaya st. 3, 142290 Puschino, Russia.

Polymers
|April 3, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Polyelectrolyte microcapsules protect bacteriophages for oral therapy. Polyallylamine and dextran negatively impact phage viability, while polyarginine and polystyrene sulfonate show less inhibition, offering potential for phage protection.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Biotechnology
  • Materials Science

Background:

  • Antibiotic resistance necessitates alternative therapies like phage therapy.
  • The stomach's acidic environment poses a challenge for oral phage delivery.
  • Polyelectrolyte microcapsules are proposed for bacteriophage protection.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of various polyelectrolytes on bacteriophage viability.
  • To assess the protective potential of polyelectrolyte microcapsules for oral phage therapy.

Main Methods:

  • Studied the effect of polyanions and polycations on coliphage viability.
  • Varied polyelectrolyte concentrations (0.05–5 mg/mL).
  • Assessed inhibition based on polyelectrolyte type and concentration.

Main Results:

  • Polyallylamine (PAH) significantly decreased bacteriophage viability in a dose-dependent manner.
  • Polyarginine exhibited less inhibition compared to PAH.
  • Polystyrene sulfonate showed minimal impact at low concentrations but reduced viability at higher concentrations.
  • Dextran sulfate caused moderate inhibition (20-30%), while dextran inhibited significantly at lower concentrations but lost effect at higher ones.

Conclusions:

  • Polyelectrolyte choice is critical for bacteriophage protection in microcapsules.
  • Polyallylamine's inhibitory effect is electrostatic and can be mitigated by high ionic strength.
  • Further research is needed to optimize polyelectrolyte microcapsules for effective oral phage therapy.
Keywords:
E. colibacteriophagesdextrane sulfateelectrostaticspolyallylaminepolyargininepolyelectrolytespolysteryne sulfonate

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