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NANOTECHNOLOGY
September 02, 2002
Viral Workhorses
Emptied of their infectious nucleic acids, viruses make surprisingly adaptable tools for nanoengineers
By Anne M. Rosenthal
HANDY TOOL for nanoengineering: the Cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV) displays a soccer-ball pattern of the five-sided (turquoise) and six-sided (red and green) viral capsomeres in this computer image determined by x-ray crystallography. The capsomeres are composed of protein subunits with identical amino acid chains. In CCMV, there are three slightly different chain configurations or shapes of the proteins, represented by the three colors.
A virus, essentially nucleic acid clothed in a protein coat, or capsid, is well designed for its lifestyle as a cellular parasite. Targeting, packaging and delivery have all been optimized over billions of years of evolution. To search out target cells, the viral coat incorporates recognition and docking sites for specific cell types. To stabilize its negatively charged genetic package, a virus may carry a remarkably high positive charge on the capsid interior.
And once it arrives at its destination, a virus delivers its genes into the interior of the targeted cell, where it usurps cellular machinery for viral purposes. Now researchers are taking advantage of these viral systems to develop clever nanotechnology applications in medical imaging and drug delivery, as well as new approaches to building electronic devices (see sidebar: "Viral Nanoassemblers for Electronics").
Mark Young and Trevor Douglas, both at Montana State University, Bozeman, in conjunction with Jack Johnson’s group at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., spent a number of years sleuthing the structure and assembly of viruses. They focused on the well-studied Cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV). The viral coat of CCMV, like that of many viruses, is composed of identical protein subunits that self-assemble into a quasispherical shape known as an icosahedron.
This geometry forms the largest volume of a given size that can be constituted from identical subunits, notes Young. The subunits are organized into five-sided and six-sided capsomeres, which are arranged to form a pattern similar to that on a soccer ball. CCMV has gated pores that open and close according to the chemistry of its surrounding environment.
This is what I was recently discussing as a possible key to cancer treatment and cure. And someone recently said U.S. Scientists were idiots? All the good ones are in Europe and Asia? BTW, the Scientific American article is from 2002. Old news.
NANOTECHNOLOGY
September 02, 2002
Viral Workhorses
Emptied of their infectious nucleic acids, viruses make surprisingly adaptable tools for nanoengineers
By Anne M. Rosenthal
HANDY TOOL for nanoengineering: the Cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV) displays a soccer-ball pattern of the five-sided (turquoise) and six-sided (red and green) viral capsomeres in this computer image determined by x-ray crystallography. The capsomeres are composed of protein subunits with identical amino acid chains. In CCMV, there are three slightly different chain configurations or shapes of the proteins, represented by the three colors.
A virus, essentially nucleic acid clothed in a protein coat, or capsid, is well designed for its lifestyle as a cellular parasite. Targeting, packaging and delivery have all been optimized over billions of years of evolution. To search out target cells, the viral coat incorporates recognition and docking sites for specific cell types. To stabilize its negatively charged genetic package, a virus may carry a remarkably high positive charge on the capsid interior.
And once it arrives at its destination, a virus delivers its genes into the interior of the targeted cell, where it usurps cellular machinery for viral purposes. Now researchers are taking advantage of these viral systems to develop clever nanotechnology applications in medical imaging and drug delivery, as well as new approaches to building electronic devices (see sidebar: "Viral Nanoassemblers for Electronics").
Mark Young and Trevor Douglas, both at Montana State University, Bozeman, in conjunction with Jack Johnson’s group at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., spent a number of years sleuthing the structure and assembly of viruses. They focused on the well-studied Cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV). The viral coat of CCMV, like that of many viruses, is composed of identical protein subunits that self-assemble into a quasispherical shape known as an icosahedron.
This geometry forms the largest volume of a given size that can be constituted from identical subunits, notes Young. The subunits are organized into five-sided and six-sided capsomeres, which are arranged to form a pattern similar to that on a soccer ball. CCMV has gated pores that open and close according to the chemistry of its surrounding environment.
This is what I was recently discussing as a possible key to cancer treatment and cure. And someone recently said U.S. Scientists were idiots? All the good ones are in Europe and Asia? BTW, the Scientific American article is from 2002. Old news.
