Biological nanoscience sits at the interface between chemical, biological and material sciences. The properties of plant virus particles make them useful synthons, scaffolds and templates for applications in bionanoscience. Adaptation of the virus particles facilitates their use as platforms for multivalent presentation of ligands and as templates for materials synthesis. For example, Cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) particles are ca. 30 nm diameter icosahedra with well characterised physical, genetic and biological properties; they are preformed, pseudo-spherical, monodisperse nanoparticles. The properties of CPMV make it a natural, robust, nanoscale building block for inorganic materials synthesis and for the development of targeted carriers of therapeutic agents. Further, it has been shown that empty CPMV-based virus-like particles, that contain no genomic nucleic acid, can be used in the synthesis of encapsulated inorganic materials and for internal loading. The virus-based nanomaterials have potential applications in, for example, sensors, diagnostics, therapeutics and catalysis.

Cowpea mosaic virus and virus-like particles for material synthesis

245th National Meeting (2013)

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