Bacteriophage antimicrobial therapy: From mechanism exploration to biomedical applications

In recent years, due to the widespread use of antibiotics, even abuse, the problem of bacterial resistance is becoming more and more serious. Finding new antimicrobial agents and therapeutic methods has become a difficult problem that needs to be solved. Bacteriophages are a general term for viruses that can infect bacteria, fungi, spirochete and other microorganisms. Some bacteriophages can bind specifically to host bacteria, reproduce in the host bacteria and kill the bacteria, and can be used as natural antibacterial agents, which is considered to have the potential to treat multi-drug resistant bacterial infections. This paper introduces the interaction between phage and host, and systematically summarizes the research on bacteriophage in antimicrobial therapy, including the common forms of bacteriophage antibacterial preparations and drug delivery routes, especially the application of bacteriophage as antibacterial agents. Finally, we introduce the application prospect and challenge of bacteriophages in antimicrobial therapy.