Electrospinning of a bacteriophage-releasing material with antibacterial properties against S. aureus

Staphylococcus aureus causes infections of topical and surgical wounds that may be difficult to treat due to drug-resistance. Much research effort is focused on overcoming this health problem. Bacteriophages could be an option for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains because phages target pathogenic strains with high specificity without affecting the human microbiome. However, the main problem is to incorporate phages in a proper support. In this study, a S. aureus-targeting phage was integrated into polycaprolactone/polyethylene glycol coaxial fibers by electrospinning. The characterization of the physicochemical and mechanical properties of the electrospun materials showed no significant differences in morphology, Young's modulus (∼10 MPa) and tensile strength between the fibers with and without phages. In degradation tests, electrospun fibers with and without phages exhibited the same stability and in aqueous solution, both lost 50 % of their mass (i.e. the PEG component). The lytic activity against S. aureus of the phages incorporated in the electrospun fibers was confirmed in vitro and decreased by 50 % after 30-day storage at 4 °C. Altogether, this proof-of-principle study indicates that phage incorporation into coaxial electrospun fibers represents a promising approach to generate biomaterial with antibacterial properties.