Novel Approaches for Detection of Bacteriophage

Abstract

Modern analytical instrumentation combined with increased computational power has dramatically enhanced the capacity to interrogate the physicochemical properties of macromolecular structures. For example, it has become routine to analyze complex protein mixtures by mass spectrometry and quantitatively identify thousands of proteins in the nanomolar to picomolar range in a single analytical run. The relatively small size and simple structure of bacteriophages, generally consisting of a protein coat surrounding a nucleic acid core, make them highly amenable to examination by these new analytical methods, and assays can be developed that exploit inherent bacteriophage functionality. This chapter describes the recent utilization of bacteriophages in conjunction with mass spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy for direct detection of bacteriophages.