#24 · Systems biology

Optimal control and phage dynamics shape bacterial eradication strategies

The three preprints share a mechanistic modeling approach in which antimicrobial interventions are evaluated against bacterial population-level outcomes. A one-dimensional biofilm model with resistance transfer is analyzed with Pontryagin optimal control to identify low-dose antibiotic eradication schedules. A phage-antibiotic combination model incorporates immune response and density-dependent bacterial social defenses as explicit components of therapy. A dynamical-systems study of a K. pneumoniae-phage model, calibrated in vitro, shows that quasineutral equilibria govern clearance of resistant strains. The common thread is therapy design under bacterial population dynamics. What is new is the use of optimal control to derive dosing schedules for biofilm eradication and the explicit inclusion of density-dependent defense in combination therapy.