Design rules for nanomedical engineering: from physical virology to the applications of virus-based materials in medicine

Abstract

Physical virology seeks to define the principles of physics underlying viral infections, traditionally focusing on the fundamental processes governing virus assembly, maturation, and disassembly. A detailed understanding of virus structure and assembly has facilitated the development and analysis of virus-based materials for medical applications. In this Physical Virology review article, we discuss the recent developments in nanomedicine that help us to understand how physical properties affect the in vivo fate and clinical impact of (virus-based) nanoparticles. We summarize and discuss the design rules that need to be considered for the successful development and translation of virus-based nanomaterials from bench to bedside.

Controlling supramolecular polymerization through multicomponent self‐assembly

“…[176][177][178][179][180][181][182][183][184][185] Due to the focus on spherical structures, virus capsids with an icosahedral geometry have been used extensively as containers to encapsulate and delivery cargo material. [186][187][188][189][190][191][192][193] Icosahedral capsids are assembled according to the Caspar-Klug quasiequivalence theory in which 60N subunits are symmetrically arranged as pentamers and hexamers to form the final icosahedron, where N is the triangulation (T) number.…”

Using viruses as nanomedicines

“…Plantbased viruses and bacteriophages are typically considered safer delivery vehicles than mammalian viruses because they cannot proliferate in humans and hence are less likely to trigger negative downstream effects (Costa et al, 2012;Yildiz et al, 2012;Wen et al, 2013). Non-enveloped plant and bacterial viruses are two-component systems composed of an outer protein shell (capsid) surrounding the genomic material.…”

“…With regard to the design of efficient carrier systems, the physical properties, such as size, morphology and charge, of the nanocarrier exterior have direct effects on cellular uptake, intracellular distribution and accumulation, retention and excretion times (see 'Toxicity and biodistribution' below; Figure 1) (Moghimi et al, 2005;Doane and Burda, 2012). While semisynthetic carriers such as quantum dots, dendrimers, vesicles and liposomes all offer certain advantages (and disadvantages) (Steinmetz, 2010;Wen et al, 2013), in terms of biocompatibility, pharmacokinetics, toxicity and immunogenicity, viruses consistently stand out as ideal molecular carrier systems . Although evolved in nature to invade and infect host cells for the efficient delivery of genomic cargo, recent developments in nanotechnology have revolutionized viruses as safe delivery vehicles.…”

Identification of the Structural Basis of Thermal Lability of a Virus Provides a Rationale for Improved Vaccines

“…Investigation of the structural foundations and biological relevance of this low physicochemical stability may provide insights into capsid assembly and genome uncoating. The knowledge acquired could be applied to the design of antivirals (Bocanegra et al, 2012) and physically robust virus particles for use in medicine, biotechnology, or nanotechnology (Flenniken et al, 2009;Mateu 2011;Wen et al, 2013;Bittner et al, 2013).…”