With the rapid impetus in the saga of investigative researches there have been the unearthing of new innovative studies that remained completely unheard even some years back. One such subject is the synthetic biology. However, it has been learnt that though it is nothing but an emerging field that intends to design and put together useful biomolecular systems there have been serious researches for years. Now as one of the foremost prospective applications of synthetic biology the eminent researchers from both the MIT and Boston University are engaged in the methodology of wheedling viruses to attack and demolish the surface "biofilms" with the intention of harboring harmful bacteria in the body and on industrial and medical devices. It has come to the knowledge, that the researchers have already effectively demonstrated one such virus and on account of a "plug and play" library of "parts" believe that many more could be custom-designed to aim at different species or strains of bacteria.

The team of researchers led buy Lu and the senior author James Collins, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at BU, aspire to wipe out these biofilms thorough the efficient usages of bacteriophage, tiny viruses that attack bacteria. It is to be noted, that Phage has long been used in Eastern Europe and Russia to treat infection.

The specific work as has been found assists vault synthetic biology from an abstract science to one that has proven the true application of practical applications. But here comes the question what are bacterial biofilms in the true sense and what has been the essence?   It has been learnt form a through discussion with the noteworthy researchers involved in this investigative study that the bacterial biofilms can occur almost anywhere, that even includes the teeth, if there is a regular absence of the daily brushing. From the specific point of their accumulation it becomes really heard to reach the destinations such as the inner circle of food processing machines or medical catheters, which in due course become importunate sources of infection. These bacteria as part of the due course of action send out a variety of proteins, polysaccharides, and nucleic acids that form an extracellular matrix in concert with other accumulating materials, or in Lu's words, a "slimy layer," that encases the bacteria. Through long-established methodologies have been applied but it has been found that the antibiotics are not of use on these bacterial biofilms just in the manner as they are on free-floating bacteria. In some cases, antibiotics even give confidence to the formation of the bacterial biofilms.

When asked to Timothy Lu, a doctoral student in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, he said, "Our results show we can do simple things with synthetic biology that have potentially useful results."