OUR EXPERIENCE AT YOUR DISPOSAL
Phage Consultants helps companies fight and prevent bacteriophage infection.
Phage Consultants offers a range of expert services for companies that encountered problems with phage contamination or would like to ensure that no phage contamination occurs at their facilities.
Contamination troubleshooting
We offer comprehensive phage detection services for all types of samples collected at your facility, including:
- raw materials,
- finished products,
- fermentations samples,
- swab samples.
We offer both lytic phage and prophage testing, with estimated contaminating phage titers reported. To complement the testing, we offer phage identification services including electron microscopy and genome sequencing.
When you send us samples for phage detection, you can be sure that they are in good hands. Our state-of-the-art laboratories provide access to all necessary equipment, including a transmission electron microscope, while our scientists have extensive knowledge, training, and experience in phage work, majority of them having completed their PhD in phage biology, molecular biology, or microbiology.
At Phage Consultants, we pay particular notice to the choice of bacterial indicator strains for phage detection tests to avoid false negative results, utilizing our broad collection of bacterial strains. Each sample is tested against an array of bacterial strains optimized for your samples - such personalized approach guarantees that we will not miss a phage present in any sample sent to us, regardless of the nature of samples.
At Phage Consultants, we believe that knowing your enemy is the first step to win against it. For any detected contamination, we offer a range of services aiming at general characterization of the phage relevant to understanding of its development in the bioprocess. We can test phage susceptibility to factors such as:
- disinfectants,
- temperature,
- desiccation,
- growth media components and pH,
- any other factor relevant to your production facility.
We can test the host range of the phage across a wide variety of bacteria selected by you or suggested by us depending on the strains used in your facility.
In case of suspected phage contamination, we offer facility audit services. Our experts can inspect the facility analyze:
- the source of contamination,
- facility-specific routes of its spreading,
- efficiency of cleaning procedures,
- personnel performance in terms of sample handling.
During our audits we often catch sample, material, and process handling or design errors that when corrected could save considerable amount of time and money.
In difficult cases, we offer contamination mapping of the facility in order to understand the level of contamination and find any potential secondary contamination sources.
Our audits are accompanied by extensive interviews and sample analysis, and result in a set of recommendations for improvements and changes in various aspects of the process, including personnel practices and training, material and personnel flow, facility design and equipment, or cleaning and emergency procedures.
Phage Consultants offers extensive personnel training focusing on:
- proper sample handling,
- good laboratory practices with special emphasis on avoiding bacteriophage contamination,
- knowledge about potential sources and symptoms of infection.
Highly skilled scientists from Phage Consultants are ready to help your personnel in obtaining skills like recognizing infected processes and triggering symptoms, preventing contamination from spreading, and the ability to decontaminate the facility to help minimize losses. All our training plans are fully customizable to the type and size of your facility, scale and nature of bioprocesses, personnel number and job descriptions.
We offer our expertise to help you fight phage contamination in existing facilities. Our experts will help you rationally plan your recovery steps and consolidate all the troubleshooting efforts into one consistent action plan tailored to your particular needs.
Apart from phage detection and characterization, audits, and personnel training, we will help you construct and implement routine and emergency Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to be followed in case of a contamination and to prevent it or evaluate your existing procedures. As part of our consulting services, we will generate frequent reports to help you track your progress in the recovery process.
Phage Consultants has extensive experience in fighting page contamination, so why would you re-invent the wheel in a field where every detail matters?
We offer comprehensive phage detection services for all types of samples collected at your facility, including:
- raw materials,
- finished products,
- fermentations samples,
- swab samples.
We offer both lytic phage and prophage testing, with estimated contaminating phage titers reported. To complement the testing, we offer phage identification services including electron microscopy and genome sequencing.
When you send us samples for phage detection, you can be sure that they are in good hands. Our state-of-the-art laboratories provide access to all necessary equipment, including a transmission electron microscope, while our scientists have extensive knowledge, training, and experience in phage work, majority of them having completed their PhD in phage biology.
At Phage Consultants, we pay particular notice to the choice of bacterial indicator strains for phage detection tests to avoid false negative results, utilizing our broad collection of bacterial strains. Each sample is tested against an array of bacterial strains optimized for your samples – such personalized approach guarantees that we will not miss a phage present in any sample sent to us, regardless of the nature of samples.
At Phage Consultants, we believe that knowing your enemy is the first step to win against it. For any detected contamination, we offer a range of services aiming at general characterization of the phage relevant to understanding of its development in the bioprocess. We can test phage susceptibility to factors such as:
- disinfectants,
- temperature,
- desiccation,
- growth media components and pH,
- any other factor relevant to your production facility.
We can test the host range of the phage across a wide variety of bacteria selected by you or suggested by us depending on the strains used in your facility.
In case of suspected phage contamination, we offer facility audit services. Our experts can inspect the facility analyze:
- the source of contamination,
- facility-specific routes of its spreading,
- efficiency of cleaning procedures,
- personnel performance in terms of sample handling.
During our audits we often catch simple handling or design errors that when corrected could save considerable amount of time and money.
In difficult cases, we offer contamination mapping of the facility in order to understand the level of contamination and find any potential secondary contamination sources.
Our audits are accompanied by extensive interviews and sample analysis, and result in a set of recommendations for improvements and changes in various aspects of the process, including personnel practices and training, material and personnel flow, facility design and equipment, or cleaning and emergency procedures.
Phage Consultants offers extensive personnel training focusing on:
- proper sample handling,
- good laboratory practices with special emphasis on avoiding bacteriophage contamination,
- knowledge about potential sources and symptoms of infection.
Highly skilled scientists from Phage Consultants are ready to help your personnel in obtaining skills like recognizing infected processes and triggering symptoms, preventing contamination from spreading, and the ability to decontaminate the facility to help minimize losses. All our training plans are fully customizable to the type and size of your facility, scale and nature of bioprocesses, personnel number and job descriptions.
We offer our expertise to help you fight phage contamination in existing facilities. Our experts will help you rationally plan your recovery steps and consolidate all the troubleshooting efforts into one consistent action plan tailored to your particular needs.
Apart from phage detection and characterization, audits, and personnel training, we will help you construct and implement routine and emergency Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to be followed in case of a contamination and to prevent it or evaluate your existing procedures. As part of our consulting services, we will generate frequent reports to help you track your progress in the recovery process.
Phage Consultants has extensive experience in fighting page contamination, so why would you re-invent the wheel in a field where every detail matters?
Contamination prevention
Make sure that incoming or existing cell stocks are not a source of contamination! In order to prevent possible phage infection outbreaks, we offer routine cell bank testing, including:
- Master Cell Bank (MCB)
- Working Cell Bank (WCB)
- Research Cell Bank (RCB)
We offer both lytic phage and prophage testing on an array of bacterial strains customized for your cell bank, with estimated contaminating phage titers reported and the identity of the problematic phage investigated upon request.
As part of phage prevention tools, correct choice of disinfectant used in standard facility operations is essential. Phage Consultants will help you choose the right disinfectants for your facility and bioprocesses, customized to your needs with respect to facility size, bioprocess type and scale, personnel involvement, cost, and all safety concerns. We will match the recommended antiviral agent to the bacterial strain used and the most common phage contaminants of that strain – we base that choice on extensive characterization of various strains and phages performed in our labs. We will also measure the exact antiviral activity of different decontaminants against specific phages. Whatever your needs, we will find the right decontaminant for you!
Appropriate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to be followed by all personnel are an essential component of successful phage prevention strategy. Routine and emergency SOPs allow for quick detection of symptoms suggesting phage contamination in the facility, and ensure prompt corrective actions can be undertaken. Phage Consultants will help you evaluate your routine and emergency SOPs in terms of phage contamination prevention, suggest changes that could significantly decrease the risks of contamination, and provide advice on SOP personnel training and implementation.
Important part of phage contamination prevention is fully trained personnel aware of contamination risks and indicative symptoms. Phage Consultants offers a range of training services focusing on:
- proper sample handling,
- good laboratory practices with special emphasis on avoiding bacteriophage contamination,
- knowledge about potential sources and symptoms of infection.
All our training plans are fully customizable to the type and size of your facility, scale and nature of bioprocesses, personnel number and job descriptions. We highly recommend personnel training even for the companies that currently do not experience problems with phage infections to minimize the risk of such outbreaks in the future.
Our experience shows that majority of phage problems in bioprocesses arise from inappropriate facility design that doesn’t take into consideration the risks of phage contamination. At Phage Consultants, we believe that prevention is better than cure: we will help your company from the start by assisting in facility design that will minimize contamination risks. We will help you with aspects such as:
- Facility location with regards to potential phage sources,
- Working space plans, including laboratories and airlocks,
- Preventive measures (air filters, production and sterilization equipment).
Our services are fully customizable to businesses large and small, both production and R&D oriented.
Make sure that incoming or existing cell stocks are not a source of contamination! In order to prevent possible phage infection outbreaks, we offer routine cell bank testing, including:
- Master Cell Bank (MCB)
- Working Cell Bank (WCB)
- Research Cell Bank (RCB)
We offer both lytic phage and prophage testing on an array of bacterial strains customized for your cell bank, with estimated contaminating phage titers reported and the identity of the problematic phage investigated upon request.
As part of phage prevention tools, correct choice of disinfectant used in standard facility operations is essential. Phage Consultants will help you choose the right disinfectants for your facility and bioprocesses, customized to your needs with respect to facility size, bioprocess type and scale, personnel involvement, cost, and all safety concerns. We will match the recommended antiviral agent to the bacterial strain used and the most common phage contaminants of that strain – we base that choice on extensive characterization of various strains and phages performed in our labs. We will also measure the exact antiviral activity of different decontaminants against specific phages. Whatever your needs, we will find the right decontaminant for you!
Appropriate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to be followed by all personnel are an essential component of successful phage prevention strategy. Routine and emergency SOPs allow for quick detection of symptoms suggesting phage contamination in the facility, and ensure prompt corrective actions can be undertaken. Phage Consultants will help you evaluate your routine and emergency SOPs in terms of phage contamination prevention, suggest changes that could significantly decrease the risks of contamination, and provide advice on SOP personnel training and implementation.
Important part of phage contamination prevention is fully trained personnel aware of contamination risks and indicative symptoms. Phage Consultants offers a range of training services focusing on:
- proper sample handling,
- good laboratory practices with special emphasis on avoiding bacteriophage contamination,
- knowledge about potential sources and symptoms of infection.
All our training plans are fully customizable to the type and size of your facility, scale and nature of bioprocesses, personnel number and job descriptions. We highly recommend personnel training even for the companies that currently do not experience problems with phage infections to minimize the risk of such outbreaks in the future.
Our experience shows that majority of phage problems in bioprocesses arise from inappropriate facility design that doesn’t take into consideration the risks of phage contamination. At Phage consultants, we believe that prevention is better than cure: we will help your company from the start by assisting in facility design that will minimize contamination risks. We will help you with aspects such as:
- Facility location with regards to potential phage sources,
- Working space plans, including laboratories and airlocks,
- Preventive measures (air filters,
- Production and sterilization equipment.
Our services are fully customizable to businesses large and small, both production and R&D oriented.
Appropriate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to be followed by all personnel are an essential component of successful phage prevention strategy. Routine and emergency SOPs allow for quick detection of symptoms suggesting phage contamination in the facility, and ensure prompt corrective actions can be undertaken. Phage Consultants will help you evaluate your routine and emergency SOPs in terms of phage contamination prevention, suggest changes that could significantly decrease the risks of contamination, and provide advice on SOP personnel training and implementation.