Hybrid assembly of CPMV viruses and surface characteristics of different mutants.

There is a trend toward viral-based hybrid systems to furnish viral nanoparticles with enhanced features, for function beyond a delivery vehicle. Such hybrids have included Nanogold for microwave release, quantum dots and fluorescent moieties, to provide simultaneous imaging capabilities, and iron oxide particles for image enhancement in MRI. Other systems are the subject of ongoing and vigorous research. Nanogold surface decoration of cow pea mosaic virus (CPMV) to form NG-CPMV hybrids were explored to release fluorescent carriers using microwave energy as a model system in this presentation. Thus, emergent viral-based systems will have increasingly sophisticated architectures to provide versatile functions. Zeta potential (ZP) is a powerful tool to probe the electrostatic surface potential of biological materials and remains an untapped method for studying the interaction of nanoparticles with cells. An enormous effort is being made to study nanoparticle-cell interaction, but current throughput solutions (e.g., flow cytometry) cannot differentiate between surface-attached or endocytosed particles, while standard fluorescence microscopy is tedious and costly. CPMV-WT and other mutants (CPMV-T184C, CPMV-L189C) were studied using ZP methods and rationalized based on variations in their surface exposed residue character. Understanding such subtle changes can discretely alter the cell surface interactions due to charge affinity. Applying sensitive ZP measurements on viral nanoparticles is useful to elucidating the characteristics of the surface charge and the potential interaction modes with cell surfaces they may encounter. Thus, ZP can be a unique and efficient tool for studying cell-virus interactions and aid in development of future therapeutic strategies.