Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a paramoxyvirus and the primary cause of lower respiratory tract infections in infants, the elderly, and immune compromised individuals resulting in approximately 1 million pediatric deaths annually worldwide.  Gold nanoparticles are stable, chemically inert, and non-cytotoxic materials making them attractive as templates for novel drug design. In current work, the fusion protein from RSV was covalently attached to the surface of gold nanorods via standard carbodiimide chemistry. Conjugated particles were sufficiently purified as measured by ELISA and characterized to confirm particle integrity and stability. A significant increase in particle stability in high salt buffers was observed as monitored by UV-vis. Circular dichroism measurements were carried out on both free and nanorod-bound protein to confirm the retention of secondary structure post conjugation. Early studies have included the prophylactic addition of gold nanorod protein conjugates to HEp-2 cells followed by infection with RSV. Preliminary results indicate a significant inhibitory effect as measured by a marked decrease in viral RNA via qRT-PCR.

Gold nanorod-protein composites as a novel material for viral therapeutics

2019 Spring National Meeting

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