Chemically Modifying Viruses for Diverse Applications

Long fascinating to biologists, viruses offer nanometer-scale benchtops for building molecular-scale devices and materials. Viruses tolerate a wide range of chemical modifications including reaction conditions, pH values, and temperatures. Recent examples of nongenetic manipulation of viral surfaces have extended viruses into applications ranging from biomedical imaging, drug delivery, tissue regeneration, and biosensors to materials for catalysis and energy generation. Chemical reactions on the phage surface include both covalent and noncovalent modifications, including some applied in conjunction with genetic modifications. Here, we survey viruses chemically augmented with capabilities limited only by imagination.