DELIVERY OF AGENTS TARGETED TO MICROBIOTA NICHES

摘要

Methods for delivery of therapeutic, prophylactic, and diagnostic agents to an animal host, wherein the delivery of the agent is targeted at a bacterial niche present in the host, have been developed. In particular, delivery systems capable of selectively targeting or selectively avoiding bacterial niches, wherein the bacterial niches are identified by the functional role they serve in the host environment, such as metabolism of sugars, amino acids, or xenobiotics, or by their colonization of a given anatomical location of the host, such as the oral cavity, the gut, or the skin, are described. Use of the compositions results in an alteration of a host's microbial composition associated with a condition, a disease state, or a higher risk for a condition or disease.