Figure 2.

Schematic diagram of phage-based treatments for biofilm-forming bacteria. Biofilms provide a protective environment for pathogenic bacteria, often rendering conventional antimicrobial treatments that target planktonic bacteria ineffective. Strategies utilizing phages and phage-derived products to overcome biofilm-associated infections include (1) combinative phage-antibiotic or phage-antibiofilm regimens [141,142,143,144]; (2) engineering phages and phage-derived products to enhance the targeting of biofilm-associated bacteria [145,146,147,148] and induce biofilm dispersal [146,149,150]; and (3) formulation and encapsulation strategies for the effective delivery of phages to biofilm sites [98,151,152]. Abx: antibiotic.