In the next few decades, when the bacterial infections would become untamed, we are likely to witness increased death rates by ten times and indefinite damage on the global economy compared to the chaos caused due to the current Pandemic. Subsequently, Hospital Acquired Infections are the leading cause of most of the ICU deaths, and it's imperative to build alternative solutions to treat Bacterial infections and break the wall of antibiotic dependence.

Coming to the rescue, our project provides a narrow-spectrum treatment for the Multi-Drug Resistant Bacteria, A. baumannii, by engineering naturally found elements, namely, Bacteriophage and Pyocins. Pyocins, as produced by P. aeruginosa, provide single-hit killing kinetics. Our key engineering is the design of a novel fusion protein, called Seekercin, which is made by combining the Pyocins and Bacteriophage Tail fiber and expressed in E.coli by the expression plasmid cassette. Essentially we use the natural bactericidal properties of a Pyocin and combine them with the specificity of a page tail. The R-type Pyocin shows a single hit bactericidal activity using a hollow tube, and the AP-22 Tail Fibres of Bacteriophage allow it to attach to the A. baumannii's surface proteins called Lipooligosaccharides.

Thus, using synthetic biology and genetic engineering tools, we are designing protein therapies, which on further development can change the way current healthcare systems work. Through our project Pyomancer, we are propagating that it's time for the pharmaceutical industry to make a paradigm shift to narrow-spectrum antimicrobial therapies and regulate the damage done by the continuous use of broad-spectrum antibiotics.