What are phages?
Natural enemy
Bacteriophages are specialized nanomachines that can only kill bacteria. Every bacterium has its own bacteriophages and there are thousands of bacteria. Bacteriophages are the natural enemy of bacteria and harmless to humans. In fact, our intestines are full of bacteria and phages.
Collection
The Fagenbank is working on the construction of a collection of bacteriophages against resistant bacteria that cause infectious diseases. At present, the phage bank contains around 120 different phages against 9 different types of pathogenic bacteria. With your support, the collection will grow rapidly.
Where can you find bacteriophages?
Bacteriophages can be found everywhere in nature. There are countless phages in our intestines too. These come into waste water treatment via the sewer system. Here the bacteriophages are sampled and in the lab only the usable bacteriophage species are propagated, further cleaned up and checked for safety.
Scientific studies
Phage therapy has been extensively described in scientific literature. Here you will find a link to a special edition special edition of 'Viruses' waarin in which various aspects of phage therapy are described.