Natural Supramolecular Building Blocks

Abstract

Cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) can be isolated in gram quantities, possesses a structure that is known to atomic resolution, and is quite stable. It is therefore of potential use as a molecular entity in synthesis, particularly as a building block on the nanochemical scale. CPMV was found to possess a lysine residue with enhanced reactivity in each asymmetric unit, and thus 60 such lysines per virus particle. The identity of this residue was established by a combination of acylation, protein digestion, and mass spectrometry. Under forcing conditions, up to four lysine residues per asymmetric unit can be addressed. In combination with engineered cysteine reactivity described in the accompanying paper, this provides a powerful platform for the alteration of the chemical and physical properties of CPMV particles.

Self‐Assembled Nanoreactors

“…Furthermore, four CPMV mutants bearing cysteine residues on the protein surface have been prepared. The chemical reactivity of wild-type CPMV, 344 and mutant CPMV, 345 toward lysine-and cysteine-selective reagents, has been thoroughly investigated to demonstrate that CPMV is a versatile, virus-based starting material for chemical synthesis.…”

“…344,345 They have compared the reactivity of the thiol groups in the wild-type CPMV, which contains cysteine residues only on the interior surface of the virus, with that of CPMV mutants containing thiol groups on the outer surface. 343,345 Functionalized organic dyes (e.g., fluorescein) that react with the thiol groups were used for this purpose.…”

“…The derived particles were characterized by SEC FPLC, SDS PAGE, and TEM, and it was concluded that the conversions were quantitative. [343][344][345] Furthermore, CPMV and mutant CPMV have been decorated with biotin groups. 344,345 Adding avidin to these modified virion capsids gave crosslinked networks.…”

Immunoabsorbent nanoparticles based on a tobamovirus displaying protein A

“…One approach consists of adding novel moieties to viral particles in vitro by chemical modification (3,4). The other avenue consists of genetically reprogramming the virus to express protein fusions, thus allowing the addition of new functional blocks to the viral core monomer, the CP (5).…”

Virus Nanoparticles Mediated Osteogenic Differentiation of Bone Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells

“…[[qv: 9a]],10 In the past two decades, using virus particles as building blocks, novel materials with unique structural features have been developed for a wide range of applications, including electronics, sensing, gene/drug delivery, bioimaging, and vaccine development. [[qv: 10c]],11 However, so far there is no systematic investigation about how the nanoscale topographical cues of various plant virus particles coated substrates impact cell behaviors, specifically, osteogenesis of bone derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs).…”