Week 1 HW: Final Project Ideas

1. What you would like to biomanufacture and why?

Personalized phage cocktails for antibiotic resistant bacterial infections. This would involve storing a library of pre-characterized phage, with cocktails assembled on demand from that library and tested against the relevant bacteria. Bacteriophage are viruses that infect bacteria. They have potential as an alternative to antibiotics with bacteria infections, and are currently being used in compassionate care cases. Phage cocktails are combinations of different phage that more effectively target the bacteria.

2. What living system would you use?

Growing the phage with a bacterial host is likely much easier than cell free systems, but introduces possible problems with safety and regulation of the pathogenic bacteria. A possible alternative is engineered non-pathogenic hosts, or using less dangerous bacteria with important characteristics in common (not always possible).

3. How would you use automation?

Possible automation includes:

• Using an Opentron or cloud lab for high-throughput host-range screening
• Software that recommends a cocktail based on phage host ranges and bacterial details
• Automated filtering, purification, and titer measurement
• A feedback loop where treatment outcomes update the library and the selection model

4. How much would you need to make, and how long would it take?

Scaling out to many small, patient-specific batches on a fast turnaround would require modular, standardized manufacturing units close to hospitals. It is hard to determine exact numbers as the scaling would take place over time and likely be hospital and location specific in some ways.

5. What don’t you know yet?

• The best system for testing the cocktails (actual bacteria strain, less dangerous host, cell free, etc.)
• A possible host library big enough to cover range of infections
• End-to-end turnaround time and variability

Final Project