Capture of HIV-1 gp120 and virions by lectin-immobilized polystyrene nanospheres.

A lectin such as concanavalin A (Con A) was immobilized on the surfaces of poly(methacrylic acid) branches covered with polystyrene nanospheres with a diameter of 360 nm, which were obtained by the free radical copolymerization of styrene with the poly(tert-butylmethacrylate) macromonomer, followed by hydrolysis. Using Con A-immobilized (0.3 microgram/cm2) nanospheres, the interaction of the nanospheres with HIV-1 was determined by the reduction of the gp120 level and the viral infectivity of the HIV-1 suspensions after a 60 min incubation at room temperatures. Con A-immobilized nanospheres achieved a 95 and a 77% reduction of the gp120 level and the infectivity at a concentration of 0.5 mg/mL, respectively, indicating the effective capture of the gp120 and the virions.