Strategies to Encapsulate the Staphylococcus aureus Bacteriophage phiIPLA-RODI

Abstract

The antimicrobial properties of bacteriophages make them suitable food biopreservatives. However, such applications require the development of strategies that ensure stability of the phage particles during food processing. In this study, we assess the protective effect of encapsulation of the Staphylococcus aureus bacteriophage phiIPLA-RODI in three kinds of nanovesicles (niosomes, liposomes, and transfersomes). All these systems allowed the successful encapsulation of phage phiIPLA-RODI with an efficiency ranged between 62% and 98%, regardless of the concentration of components (like phospholipids and surfactants) used for vesicle formation. Only niosomes containing 30 mg/mL of surfactants exhibited a slightly lower percentage of encapsulation. Regarding particle size distribution, the values determined for niosomes, liposomes, and transfersomes were 0.82 ± 0.09 µm, 1.66 ± 0.21 µm, and 0.55 ± 0.06 µm, respectively. Importantly, bacteriophage infectivity was maintained during storage for 6 months at 4 °C for all three types of nanovesicles, with the exception of liposomes containing a low concentration of components. In addition, we observed that niosomes partially protected the phage particles from low pH. Thus, while free phiIPLA-RODI was not detectable after 60 min of incubation at pH 4.5, titer of phage encapsulated in niosomes decreased only 2 log units. Overall, our results show that encapsulation represents an appropriate procedure to improve stability and, consequently, antimicrobial efficacy of phages for application in the food processing industry.

Local Bacteriophage Delivery for Treatment and Prevention of Bacterial Infections

“…and the membrane of transferosomes is supplemented with edge activators that allow vesicle deformability of the vesicle, allowing for high tissue permeability. All three vesicle types could be loaded efficiently with bacteriophages (10 7 PFU/mL), with encapsulation efficiencies ranging between 96.6 and 99.8% (Gonzalez-Menendez et al, 2018). Niosomes were found to protect best against low pH and high temperature environments, as it is believed that the non-ionic surfactants in niosomes are more stable in these conditions.…”

“… Gonzalez-Menendez et al (2018) investigated the viability of encapsulating phages with liposomes and other carriers called niosomes and transferosomes. Briefly, the membrane of niosomes consists of non-ionic surfactants (e.g., Tween 20, Triton X-100, etc.)…”

The Perfect Bacteriophage for Therapeutic Applications—A Quick Guide

“…However, González-Menéndez et al [60] showed that this technique does not always improve phage particle stability compared to storage of the naked phages. Some studies have also shown that phage encapsulation in nanovesicles can enhance stability by protecting the particles from environmental factors, although a study showed that this improvement was only noticeable during short-term but not during long-term storage [63].…”

Potential of using bacteriophages and nanomaterials for eradicating bacterial diseases in animals

“…Nanocząstki te są pęcherzykami zbudowanymi z jednej, kilku lub kilkunastu przestrzeni wodnych oddzielonych od siebie zamkniętymi koncentrycznie dwuwarstwami lipidów naturalnych i/lub syntetycznych (32). Zakresy ich rozmiarów są zależne od rodzaju powstałych pęcherzyków i różnicują je na pęcherzyki wielowarstwowe (> 200 nm), duże pęcherzyki jednowarstwowe (100-400 nm) oraz małe jednowarstwowe pęcherzyki (< 100 nm) (18). W celu wyeliminowania możliwości wyłapywania liposomów przez komórki fagocytarne, dotarcia w większej ilości do komórek docelowych oraz zwiększenia efektywności działania, strukturę liposomów modyfikuje się poprzez dołączanie do ich powierzchni hydrofilowych grup karboksylowych lub polimerów (48).…”