Transfersomal phage cocktail: an effective treatment against methicillin resistant S.aureus (MRSA) mediated Skin and Soft tissue infections (SSTIs) [PublishAheadOfPrint]

Emergence of drug resistance has rekindled the interest in phage therapy as an alternative treatment option. Its potency, safety and proven efficacy is worth noting. However, phage therapy still suffers from issues of poor stability, narrow spectrum and poor pharmacokinetic profile. It therefore becomes essential to look into the use of Drug Delivery Systems (DDS) for efficient delivery of lytic phages in vivo. For the first time, the present study has evaluated the use of nano-structured lipid based carriers i.e. Transfersomes as transdermal delivery systems for encapsulating MRSA phage cocktail. Further, therapeutic potential of the encapsulated phage cocktail has been studied in resolving experimental soft tissue infection in rats. Results from in vitro stability as well as in vivo phage titer experiments indicate that transfersome entrapped phage cocktail showed better persistence and stability than free phages. Besides this, rats administered with transfersome entrapped phage cocktail resolved the experimental thigh infection within a period of seven days, unlike the twenty-day time period required for untreated animals. The findings of the present study advocate the use of transferosme as delivery agents for enhancing the stability and in vivo persistence of the encapsulated phages. In addition, this study also highlights the advantage offered by transfersome encapsulated phages in providing better therapeutic option than free phage in treating skin and soft tissue infection. Transfersome entrapped phage cocktail was able to protect all test animals (with no mortality) even when administered at a delay of twelve-hour post infection unlike free phages, thus making this treatment option more suitable in clinical settings.

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