Bovine serum albumin nanoparticles improve bacteriophage stability and antimicrobial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

ABSTRACT: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen characterized by high antimicrobial resistance, which poses significant challenges for treatment. Phage therapy offers a targeted alternative but is limited by the poor stability of phage and phage cocktails under physiological conditions. Here, we report the encapsulation of the anti-P. aeruginosa phage VAC1 in bovine serum albumin (BSA) nanoparticles (NPPha) to increase their stability and antimicrobial performance. NPPha displayed high encapsulation efficiency (> 95%), sustained phage release, and preserved infectivity for up to five days at 37 °C, while showing no cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells. In vitro, compared with free VAC1, NPPha significantly reduced bacterial growth and promoted a > 10⁵-fold increase in phage replication. In a mu

SUBMITTER: Cunha GAD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12920805 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature