Introduction

The invention lends itself to personalized medicine and innovative, addressable applications of sonodynamic therapy. It is a platform based on bacteriophages (i.e., viruses that infect bacteria) modified to selectively target and kill specific cell types of medical, veterinary, microbiological, industrial, and environmental interest.

Technical features

Bacteriophages (phages) are ubiquitous viruses that infect bacteria but are inactive against eukaryotic cells. They can serve as modular platforms for generating novel therapeutic vectors because they are easily modified and redirected to different cell types by replacing specific recognition proteins exhibited by the phage. In our case, bacteriophages are engineered to target specific cells and to deliver potent sono-sensitizing molecules.

The invention consists of a phage vector platform applicable for SDT of bacterial or cancer cells. Upon irradiation of the sample with low-intensity ultrasound, the vector selectively mediates the killing of target cells, increasing the efficacy and specificity of SDT while lowering the threshold of useful ultrasonic power intensity.

Possible Applications

• Non-invasive and selective antimicrobial therapies;
• Non-invasive and selective cancer therapies;
• Applications based on triggerable, focusable, soft and tissue penetrating radiation sources.

Advantages

• Modularity of the platform;
• Possibility to enhance cytotoxic effect;
• Redirecting affordability thanks to basic molecular techniques;
• Low cost phage vector production;
• Very low cytotoxicity of the vector itself.