Research intent
We will use phages to deliver high doses of antibiotics to site, improving their efficacy and reducing their toxicity.
What is the issue?
The precise targeting ability of bacteriophages means that patients with infections that do not respond well to antibiotics can have toxic potent antibiotics delivered with huge safety benefits, providing new treatment options. These are likely to be valuable for all those with chronic lung, bone and soft tissue infections and those with infected implantable devices or joint replacements.
What does the research aim to do and how?
We will determine how best to link potent antibiotics to the outside coat of the antibacterial viruses we use in phage therapy. We will combine microbiology and special ligand chemistry to do this, building on established methods and previous work.