We theoretically investigate and quantify the effects of pH and salt concentrationon the charge regulation of the bacteriophage PP7 capsid. Theseeffects are found to be extremely important and substantial,introducing qualitative changes in the charge state of the capsid such asa transition from net-positive to net-negative charge depending on thesolution pH. The overall charge of the virus capsid arises as aconsequence of a complicated balance between the chemical dissociationequilibrium of the amino acids, the electrostatic interaction betweenthem and translational entropy of the mobile solution ions, i.e., counter ion release. We showthat in order to properly describe and predict the chargingequilibrium of viral capsids in general, one needs to includemolecular details as exemplified by the acid-base equilibrium of thedetailed distribution of amino acids in the proteinaceous capsidshell.

Role of solution conditions in the bacteriophage PP& capid charge regulation

248th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.