title: Encapsulation of nanoparticles in virus protein shells.
abstract: The self-assembly of virus-like particles may lead to materials which combine the unique characteristics of viruses, such as precise size control and responsivity to environmental cues, with the properties of abiotic cargo. For a few different viruses, shell proteins are amenable to the in vitro encapsulation of non-genomic cargo in a regular protein cage. In this chapter we describe protocols of high-efficiency in vitro self-assembly around functionalized gold nanoparticles for three examples of icosahedral and non-icosahedral viral protein cages derived from a plant virus, an animal virus, and a human retrovirus. These protocols can be readily adapted with small modifications to work for a broad variety of inorganic and organic nanoparticles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, 800 E. Kirkwood Avenue, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA.
authors.forename: Irina B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Tsvetkova
authors.forename: Bogdan G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Dragnea
mesh_terms: D017795:Bromovirus; D004339:Drug Compounding / Q000379:methods*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D014764:Viral Proteins; D006046:Gold