Nanofabrication of Bioselective Materials Using Diverse Nanolandscapes Displayed on Live Viruses

Filamentous phages, such as fd used in this study, are thread-shaped bacterial viruses. Their outer coat is a tube formed by thousands of equal copies of the major coat protein pVIII. We constructed libraries of random peptides fused to all pVIII domains and selected phages that act as probes specific for test antigens and biological threat agents. Because the viral carrier is infective, phage-borne bio-selective probes can be cloned individually and propagated indefinitely without any need for chemical synthesis or reconstruction. We demonstrated that biorecognition layers fabricated from phage-derived probes can bind biological agents, and as a part of an analytical platform generate detectable signals. Phage are superior to antibodies: they are inexpensive, highly specific, strong binders resistant to high temperatures and environmental stresses, and thus may be suitable as antibody substitutes for field-use detectors.
Sponsored in part by Army Research Office Contract no. DAAD19-01-10454.