4.7 Article

A theory for viral capsid assembly around electrostatic cores

期刊

JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
卷 130, 期 11, 页码 -

出版社

AMER INST PHYSICS
DOI: 10.1063/1.3086041

关键词

bioelectric phenomena; Boltzmann equation; metastable states; microorganisms; molecular biophysics; nanobiotechnology; Poisson equation; proteins

资金

  1. Division Of Materials Research
  2. Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien [0820492] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
  3. NIAID NIH HHS [R01 AI080791, R01AI080791] Funding Source: Medline

向作者/读者索取更多资源

We develop equilibrium and kinetic theories that describe the assembly of viral capsid proteins on a charged central core, as seen in recent experiments in which brome mosaic virus capsids assemble around nanoparticles functionalized with polyelectrolyte. We model interactions between capsid proteins and nanoparticle surfaces as the interaction of polyelectrolyte brushes with opposite charge using the nonlinear Poisson Boltzmann equation. The models predict that there is a threshold density of functionalized charge, above which capsids efficiently assemble around nanoparticles, and that light scatter intensity increases rapidly at early times without the lag phase characteristic of empty capsid assembly. These predictions are consistent with and enable interpretation of preliminary experimental data. However, the models predict a stronger dependence of nanoparticle incorporation efficiency on functionalized charge density than measured in experiments and do not completely capture a logarithmic growth phase seen in experimental light scatter. These discrepancies may suggest the presence of metastable disordered states in the experimental system. In addition to discussing future experiments for nanoparticle-capsid systems, we discuss broader implications for understanding assembly around charged cores such as nucleic acids.

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