Intelliphage Inc.’s technology relies on bacteriophages, which are essentially viruses that infect bacteria.  Bacteriophages, or phages, were first identified over 80 years ago as agents that promote bacterial killing via lysis. They were initially thought to have key therapeutic implications for treating bacterial infections but, following unsuccessful preliminary attempts, were eventually eclipsed by the advent of antibiotics. In the 1940s, a renewed interest in phage work was spawned by the research efforts of Delbruck and others, and phage research again became a key focus of virology and basic molecular and genetic research.

Phages typically bind to susceptible target bacteria via highly specific interactions between the phage ‘tail’ (lower half of phage in figure) and complementary bacterial attachment molecules on the surface of the target bacteria. In other words, a phage is very specific to its target bacterial host by virtue of these surface interactions, thereby making attachment of phages to unrelated bacteria nearly impossible. On account of their specificity and virulence, phages are an attractive diagnostic tool for identification of specific species of pathogenic bacteria (e.g. E.coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Listeria etc.) without binding to normal healthy bacterial flora.