Dear Colleagues,

Bacterial pathogens are a major cause of disease and mortality worldwide, mainly due to the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance. Therefore, the rapid, specific, and sensitive detection of these pathogens is of the utmost importance for public health.

(Bacterio)phages are viruses that infect bacteria. Due to their high specificity, sensitivity, and stability, phages and phage proteins, such as receptor binding proteins (RBPs) and cell wall-binding domains (CBDs) from endolysins, have shown potential as bacterial probing elements in diverse detection systems. Moreover, recent advances in genetic engineering have enabled tailoring or improving their properties as recognition molecules.

This Special Issue is devoted to publishing original studies on the use of phages and phage-derived proteins as diagnostic tools for bacterial infections, namely as recognition probes in biosensing platforms and lab-on-chip devices or associated with analytical techniques. It also seeks to collect research articles that exploit and characterize new phage proteins that have potential as bacterial recognition elements. Moreover, studies that present current advances in genetic engineering of phages and phage proteins for providing superior bacterial detection probes are welcome. This Special Issue also accepts review articles or short communications related to these topics.

Dr. Carla Carvalho
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• bacterial infections
• diagnostic
• bacteriophage
• bacteriophage proteins
• receptor binding protein (RBP)
• cell wall binding domain (CBD)
• biosensors
• lab-on-chip