The Phage-ligand technology is a technology to detect, bind and remove bacteria

Bacteria

Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...

 and bacterial toxin

Bacterial toxin

A bacterial toxin is a type of toxin that is generated by bacteria.Toxinosis is pathogenesis caused by the bacterial toxin alone, not necessarily involving bacterial infection A bacterial toxin is a type of toxin that is generated by bacteria.Toxinosis is pathogenesis caused by the bacterial toxin...

s by using highly specific bacteriophage

Bacteriophage

A bacteriophage is any one of a number of viruses that infect bacteria. They do this by injecting genetic material, which they carry enclosed in an outer protein capsid...

 derived proteins.

Origins

The host recognition of bacteriophages occur via bacteria-binding proteins that have strong binding affinities to specific protein or carbohydrate

Carbohydrate

A carbohydrate is an organic compound with the empirical formula ; that is, consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with a hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 . However, there are exceptions to this. One common example would be deoxyribose, a component of DNA, which has the empirical...

 structures on the surface of the bacterial host. At the end of the infection life cycle the bacteria-lysing Endolysin

Endolysin

Endolysin is a generic term describing an enzyme that degrades the bacterial peptidoglycan cell wall, resulting in lysis of the bacterial cell....

 is synthesized and degrades the bacterial peptidoglycan

Peptidoglycan

Peptidoglycan, also known as murein, is a polymer consisting of sugars and amino acids that forms a mesh-like layer outside the plasma membrane of bacteria , forming the cell wall. The sugar component consists of alternating residues of β- linked N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid...

 cell wall

Cell wall

The cell wall is the tough, usually flexible but sometimes fairly rigid layer that surrounds some types of cells. It is located outside the cell membrane and provides these cells with structural support and protection, and also acts as a filtering mechanism. A major function of the cell wall is to...

, resulting in lysis

Lysis

Lysis refers to the breaking down of a cell, often by viral, enzymic, or osmotic mechanisms that compromise its integrity. A fluid containing the contents of lysed cells is called a "lysate"....

 (and therefore killing) of the bacterial cell.

Applications

Bacteriophage derived proteins are used for detection and removal of bacteria and bacterial components (especially endotoxin contaminations) in food, human diagnostics and decolonization of bacteria causing nosocomial infections (e.g. MRSA).
Protein modifications allow the biotechnological adaption to specific requirements.