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Review
. 2016 Nov 29:5:2782.
doi: 10.12688/f1000research.9705.1. eCollection 2016.

Bacteriophage-based tools: recent advances and novel applications

Lisa O'Sullivan  1 , Colin Buttimer  1 , Olivia McAuliffe  2 , Declan Bolton  3 , Aidan Coffey  1
Affiliations
Review

Bacteriophage-based tools: recent advances and novel applications

Lisa O'Sullivan et al. F1000Res. .

Abstract

Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that infect bacterial hosts, and since their discovery over a century ago they have been primarily exploited to control bacterial populations and to serve as tools in molecular biology. In this commentary, we highlight recent diverse advances in the field of phage research, going beyond bacterial control using whole phage, to areas including biocontrol using phage-derived enzybiotics, diagnostics, drug discovery, novel drug delivery systems and bionanotechnology.

Keywords: bacterial diagnostics; bacteriophage; biocontrol; bionanotechnology; biotechnology; phage; phage research; phage-based drug delivery.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests. No competing interests were disclosed. No competing interests were disclosed. No competing interests were disclosed.

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