Oral: Multiple Nanoparticle Encapsulation in Virus-like Particles

Viruses are naturally occurring nanoparticles that are promising candidates for drug delivery and targeting purposes. Here, I will present details of the synthesis of virus-like particles (VLPs) encapsulating multiple metal nanoparticles (NPs). While formation of a virus shell around a single NP core has been studied both experimentally and theoretically, only recently we have observed that multiple very small NPs can co-assemble into a single VLP, the diameter of which is consistent to the native virus. We propose an assembly mechanism for self-assembled multicore VLPs by studying the phase diagram for multi-particle encapsulation in virus shell obtain by varying the pH, the ionic strength, and the charge density on the nanoparticle core and reaction stoichiometry. We also provide preliminary structural analysis of the array of nanoparticles inside the VLP by cryo-EM tomography. Once fully optimized, the collective optical response of multicore VLPs to capsid deformations will be studied and provide the basis for a new type of nanoscopic strain sensors. Such VLP-based probes will represent a new experimental tool for the analysis of configurational changes of viruses in the confines of a host cell, which will be beneficial for the advancement of virus-based drug delivery systems.