Coronavirus Pleomorphism and Rotational Diffusivity

ORAL

Abstract

The coronavirus is always idealized as a spherical capsid with radially protruding spikes. However, histologically, in the tissues of infected patients, capsids in cross section are elliptical, and only sometimes spherical. This capsid ellipticity implies that coronaviruses are oblate or prolate or both. We call this diversity of shapes, pleomorphism. Recently, the rotational diffusivity of the coronavirus in suspension was calculated, from first principles, using general rigid bead-rod theory [M.A. Kanso, Phys Fluids, 32, 113101 (2020)]. We did so by beading the capsid, and then also by replacing each of its bulbous spikes with a single bead. We use energy minimization for the spreading of the spikes, charged identically, over the oblate or prolate capsids. We use general rigid bead-rod theory to explore the role of coronavirus ellipticity on its rotational diffusivity, the transport property around which its cell attachment revolves. We learn that coronavirus ellipticity decreases its rotational diffusivity for both oblate and prolate ellipsoids. 
 

*This research was undertaken, in part, thanks to support from the Canada Research Chairs program of the Government of Canada for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Rheology. This research was also undertaken, in part, thanks to support from the Discovery Grant program of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) (A.J. Giacomin), Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (M.A. Kanso) and the Mitacs Research Training Award (A. J. Giacomin and M.A. Kanso). A.J. Giacomin is indebted to the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering of Queen’s University at Kingston for its support through a Research Initiation Grant (RIG). V. Chaurasia and E. Fried gratefully acknowledge support from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University with subsidy funding from the Cabinet Office, Government of Japan.

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Publication: NA

Presenters

  • Mona Kanso

    • Queen's University

Authors

  • Mona Kanso

    • Queen's University

  • Alan Jeffrey Giacomin

    • Queen's University

  • Marwa Naime

    • American University of Beirut

  • Vikash Chaurasia

    • Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology

  • Eliot Fried

    • Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology