title: Atomic force microscopy observation and characterization of single virions and virus-like particles by nano-indentation.
abstract: Structure and function of viruses are intimately related, and one of the goals in virology is to elucidate the mechanisms behind this relation. A variety of research endeavours is focused on studying these mechanisms and a relatively new technique in this field is Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Using AFM virions and virus-like particles can be imaged and manipulated at the single particle level. Here we review recent AFM nano-indentations studies unveiling for instance the mechanics of capsid-genome interactions, morphological changes that drive viral maturation, capsid stabilizing factors and viral uncoating. We show that in an increasing amount of literature a clear link between mechanics and infectivity is observed, which not only provides us with new fundamental insights into virology, but also provides ways to improve virus-like particles for applications in nanomedicine and nanotechnology.
authors.affiliation: Natuur- en Sterrenkunde & LaserLab, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marchetti
authors.affiliation: Natuur- en Sterrenkunde & LaserLab, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gjl
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wuite
authors.affiliation: Natuur- en Sterrenkunde & LaserLab, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Moleculaire Biofysica, Zernike instituut, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: w.h.roos@rug.nl.
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Roos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002213:Capsid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000379:methods*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D014771:Virion / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D014780:Viruses / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*
chemical_list: D036022:Capsid Proteins