Challenges and prospects in the use of bacteriocins

The exploitation of bacteriocins in biotechnology and therapeutics offers significant potential, but also faces major challenges that need to be addressed and overcome if they are to be applied. One challenge is that bacteriocins are subject to enzymatic degradation, particularly by proteases, and can exhibit variable stability under industrial or physiological conditions. To overcome this problem, the development of innovative strategies such as encapsulation, the use of protein protectors, or the application of molecular modifications to increase their resistance will be necessary for various future applications. Nevertheless, it is important to mention that in other cases, the lack of stability can be an advantage if the bacteriocin needs to remain inactive for a long period in order to minimize its long-term impact.

Another major challenge lies in the regulatory...