Bacteriophages and development of nanomaterials for neural regeneration

Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that infect bacterial cells and hijack the metabolism of the host cells for replication and amplification of their genetic information. These bacterial viruses are known to be the most numerous life forms on earth. Recent metagenomic analyses have revealed the vast untapped diversity of bacteriophages reinforcing the idea that our current knowledge on the phage world indicates only the tip of the iceberg (Clark, 2012). The discovery of bacteriophages dramatically expanded the scope of applications of viruses in biotechnology and biomedicine.