Bacteriophages represent a promising alternative to antibiotics, particularly due to the increasing antimicrobial resistance; however, their application is mainly limited by their instability in the acidic environment of the gastrointestinal tract and during storage. In this master's thesis, we developed and optimized a process for bacteriophage formulation, including propagation, concentration by tangential flow filtration, encapsulation in alginate capsules, and lyophilization. We investigated the influence of various encapsulation process parameters, such as alginate concentration, concentration of CaCl₂, and mixing rate on properties of final formulation. Different encapsulation conditions were tested, demonstrating that a combination of 2% alginate, 0.1 M CaCl₂, and the addition of trehalose enables the formation of stable capsules with high encapsulation efficiency. Variation of process parameters affected capsule morphology and porosity, and consequently bacteriophage release. We demonstrated that encapsulation and lyophilization significantly improve bacteriophage stability in acidic conditions, thus confirming aplicability of the developed formulation procedure for oral delivery.
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