Journal
NATURE CHEMISTRY
Volume 4, Issue 10, Pages 781-788Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/NCHEM.1442
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Funding
- National Institutes of Health [R01-EB012027]
- National Science Foundation [CBET-0709358]
- US Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering [DE-FG02-08ER46537]
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Virus-like particles (VLPs) have emerged as important and versatile architectures for chemical manipulation in the development of functional hybrid nanostructures. Here we demonstrate a successful site-selective initiation of atom-transfer radical polymerization reactions to form an addressable polymer constrained within the interior cavity of a VLP. Potentially, this protein-polymer hybrid of P22 and cross-linked poly(2-aminoethyl methacrylate) could be useful as a new high-density delivery vehicle for the encapsulation and delivery of small-molecule cargos. In particular, the encapsulated polymer can act as a scaffold for the attachment of small functional molecules, such as fluorescein dye or the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent Gd-diethylenetriaminepentacetate, through reactions with its pendant primary amine groups. Using this approach, a significant increase in the labelling density of the VLP, compared to that of previous modifications of VLPs, can be achieved. These results highlight the use of multimeric protein-polymer conjugates for their potential utility in the development of VLP-based MRI contrast agents with the possibility of loading other cargos.
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