Surface modification of cowpea chlorotic mottle virus capsids via a copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction and their adhesion behavior with HeLa cells

Microbe-material hybrids for therapeutic applications

As natural living substances, microorganisms have emerged as useful resources in medicine for creating microbe-material hybrids ranging from nano to macro dimensions. The engineering of microbe-involved nanomedicine capitalizes on the distinctive physiological attributes of microbes, particularly their intrinsic "living" properties such as hypoxia tendency and oxygen production capabilities. Exploiting these remarkable characteristics in combination with other functional materials or molecules enables synergistic enhancements that hold tremendous promise for improved drug delivery, site-specific therapy, and enhanced monitoring of treatment outcomes, presenting substantial opportunities for amplifying the efficacy of disease treatments. This comprehensive review outlines the microorganisms and microbial derivatives used in biomedicine and their specific advantages for therapeutic application. In addition, we delineate the fundamental strategies and mechanisms employed for constructing microbe-material hybrids. The diverse biomedical applications of the constructed microbe-material hybrids, encompassing bioimaging, anti-tumor, anti-bacteria, anti-inflammation and other diseases therapy are exhaustively illustrated. We also discuss the current challenges and prospects associated with the clinical translation of microbe-material hybrid platforms. Therefore, the unique versatility and potential exhibited by microbe-material hybrids position them as promising candidates for the development of next-generation nanomedicine and biomaterials with unique theranostic properties and functionalities.

Construction of viral protein-based hybrid nanomaterials mediated by a macromolecular glue

A generic strategy to construct virus protein-based hybrid nanomaterials is reported by using a macromolecular glue inspired by mussel adhesion. Commercially available poly(isobutylene-alt-maleic anhydride) (PiBMA) modified with dopamine (PiBMAD) is designed as this macromolecular glue, which serves as a universal adhesive material for the construction of multicomponent hybrid nanomaterials. As a proof of concept, gold nanorods (AuNRs) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are initially coated with PiBMAD. Subsequently, viral capsid proteins from the Cowpea Chlorotic Mottle Virus (CCMV) assemble around the nano-objects templated by the negative charges of the glue. With virtually unchanged properties of the rods and tubes, the hybrid materials might show improved biocompatibility and can be used in future studies toward cell uptake and delivery.

Rip it, stitch it, click it: A Chemist's guide to VLP manipulation

Viruses are some of nature's most ubiquitous self-assembled molecular containers. Evolutionary pressures have created some incredibly robust, thermally, and enzymatically resistant carriers to transport delicate genetic information safely. Virus-like particles (VLPs) are human-engineered non-infectious systems that inherit the parent virus' ability to self-assemble under controlled conditions while being non-infectious. VLPs and plant-based viral nanoparticles are becoming increasingly popular in medicine as their self-assembly properties are exploitable for applications ranging from diagnostic tools to targeted drug delivery. Understanding the basic structure and principles underlying the assembly of higher-order structures has allowed researchers to disassemble (rip it), reassemble (stitch it), and functionalize (click it) these systems on demand. This review focuses on the current toolbox of strategies developed to manipulate these systems by ripping, stitching, and clicking to create new technologies in the biomedical space.

Self-assembled Viral Nanoparticles as Targeted Anticancer Vehicles

Viral nanoparticles (VNPs) comprise a variety of mammalian viruses, plant viruses, and bacteriophages, that have been adopted as building blocks and supra-molecular templates in nanotechnology. VNPs demonstrate the dynamic, monodisperse, polyvalent, and symmetrical architectures which represent examples of such biological templates. These programmable scaffolds have been exploited for genetic and chemical manipulation for displaying of targeted moieties together with encapsulation of various payloads for diagnosis or therapeutic intervention. The drug delivery system based on VNPs offer diverse advantages over synthetic nanoparticles, including biocompatibility, biodegradability, water solubility, and high uptake capability. Here we summarize the recent progress of VNPs especially as targeted anticancer vehicles from the encapsulation and surface modification mechanisms, involved viruses and VNPs, to their application potentials.

Targeted delivery system for cancer cells consist of multiple ligands conjugated genetically modified CCMV capsid on doxorubicin GNPs complex

Targeted nano-delivery vehicles were developed from genetically modified Cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV) capsid by ligands bioconjugation for efficient drug delivery in cancer cells. RNA binding (N 1-25aa) and β-hexamer forming (N 27-41aa) domain of capsid was selectively deleted by genetic engineering to achieve the efficient in vitro assembly without natural cargo. Two variants of capsids were generated by truncating 41 and 26 amino acid from N terminus (NΔ41 and NΔ26) designated as F₁ and F₂ respectively. These capsid were optimally self-assembled in 1:2 molar ratio (F₁:F₂) to form a monodisperse nano-scaffold of size 28 nm along with chemically conjugated modalities for visualization (fluorescent dye), targeting (folic acid, FA) and anticancer drug (doxorubicin). The cavity of the nano-scaffold was packed with doxorubicin conjugated gold nanoparticles (10 nm) to enhance the stability, drug loading and sustained release of drug. The chimeric system was stable at pH range of 4–8. This chimeric nano-scaffold system showed highly specific receptor mediated internalization (targeting) and ~300% more cytotoxicity (with respect to FA⁻ delivery system) to folate receptor positive Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF7) cell lines. The present system may offer a programmable nano-scaffold based platform for developing chemotherapeutics for cancer.

Combining Protein Cages and Polymers: from Understanding Self-Assembly to Functional Materials

Protein cages, such as viruses, are well-defined biological nanostructures which are highly symmetrical and monodisperse. They are found in various shapes and sizes and can encapsulate or template non-native materials. Furthermore, the proteins can be chemically or genetically modified giving them new properties. For these reasons, these protein structures have received increasing attention in the field of polymer-protein hybrid materials over the past years, however, advances are still to be made. This Viewpoint highlights the different ways polymers and protein cages or their subunits have been combined to understand self-assembly and create functional materials.

Bioorthogonal labelling of living bacteria using unnatural amino acids containing nitrones and a nitrone derivative of vancomycin

Unnaturald-amino acids bearing endocyclic nitrones were developed for live-cell labelling of the bacterial peptidoglycan layer.