title: Evolution of nanoparticle-induced distortion on viral polyhedra.
abstract: Morphological changes in the polyhedra of the Bombyx mori L. nuclear polyhedrosis virus (BmNPV), a baculovirus causing the deadly grasserie disease in silkworms, brought about by mixing with lipophilically capped amorphous silica nanoparticles (LASN, average size 10 ± 2 nm) were studied with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. SEM shows that the regular octagonal polyhedra facets are replaced by a larger number of newly formed irregular ones. The average number of facets reveals a nonlinear growth pattern with nanoparticle (NP) concentration, where an initial linear region ends in a plateau. IR bands corresponding to vibration modes of the capping show (a) a saturation of the area under the band with NP concentration, indicating a correlation with attachment to viral polyhedra and (b) a narrowing of the band per NP from the linear to the plateau portions of the distortion curve, suggesting non-equilibrium and equilibrium situations, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Biological Sciences Division, Indian Statistical Institute, 203, B. T. Road, Kolkata, 700108, India. sumistha.das@gmail.com
authors.forename: Sumistha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: Alokmay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Datta
authors.forename: Smita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
authors.forename: Nupur
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Biswas
authors.forename: Arunava
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goswami
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D012831:Bombyx / Q000821:virology; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D053758:Nanoparticles; D017924:Nucleopolyhedroviruses / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000187:drug effects*; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
chemical_list: D012822:Silicon Dioxide