•Paper stabilizes T-bacteriophages against extreme pH.•Degree of stabilization depends on bacteriophage family and functionality of paper.•At pH 5.6 paper increases stability from 30 min in solution to at least four hours on paper.•At pH 8.4 and pH 14 paper properties determine T-bacteriophage activity over time.•Lysis area around papers on an overlay is linearly related to bacteriophage number.Bacteriophages find applications in agriculture, medicine, and food safety. Many of these applications can expose bacteriophages to stresses that inactivate them including acidic and basic pH. Bacteriophages can be stabilized against these stresses by materials including paper, a common material in packaging and consumer products. Combining paper and bacteriophages creates antibacterial materials, which can reduce the use of antibiotics. Here we show that adsorption on paper protects T4, T5, and T7 bacteriophage from acidic and basic pH. We added bacteriophages to filter paper functionalized with carboxylic acid (carboxyl methyl cellulose) or amine (chitosan) groups, and exposed them to pH from 5.6 to 14. We determined the number of infective bacteriophages after exposure directly on the paper. All papers extended the lifetime of infective bacteriophage by at least a factor of four with some papers stabilizing bacteriophages for up to one week. The degree of stabilization depended on five main factors (i) the family of the bacteriophage, (ii) the charge of the paper and bacteriophages, (iii) the location of the bacteriophages within the paper, (iv) the ability of the paper to prevent bacteriophage-bacteriophage aggregation, and (v) the sensitivity of the bacteriophage proteins to the tested pH. Even when adsorbed on paper the bacteriophages were able to remove E. coli in milk. Choosing the right paper modification or material will protect bacteriophages adsorbed on that material against detrimental pH and other environmental challenges increasing the range of applications of bacteriophages on materials.Download high-res image (122KB)Download full-size image