Bacteriophages represent a rich and unique resource of anti-infectives to counter the global problem of antibiotic resis - tance. In this work, we assessed the bactericidal activity of two virulent staphylococcal phages, K and 44AHJD, against S. aureus isolates of clinical significance, and tested their efficacy in vivo . The phage cocktail lysed >85% of the clini cal isolates tested. Both the phages were purified by ion-exchange column chromatography following propagation in bioreactors. The purity profiles of the ion-exchange purified phages were compared with those of phages purified using cesium chloride density gradient ultracentrifugation, and infectiousness of the purified phages was confirmed by p laque forming assay. The in vivo efficacy of a phage cocktail was evaluated in an experimental murine nasal colonization model, which showed that the phage cocktail was efficacious. T o our knowledge, this is the first report of phage use in an in vivo model of nasal carriage.
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