ABSTRACT

This chapter provides an overview of the different bioconjugation chemistries that have been applied to a variety of viral nanoparticle (VNP) building blocks. The capsids of VNPs are composed of many identical copies of coat proteins, which consist of amino acids. Amino acids that are solvent-exposed on either the exterior or interior surface of the capsid are generally available for modification protocols. The most commonly used isothiocyanate-containing label is fluorescein–-isothiocyanate, which has been conjugated to a large variety of VNPs. The ligands, tris(triazolylmethyl)amine and sulfonated bathophenanthroline have been used for conjugation of a variety of molecules to VNPs. Standard chemistries using commercially available probes have been applied to nearly any VNP in use for nanotechnology. VNPs have a strong degree of symmetry and polyvalency, and a mutant particle will display multiple copies of the genetic modification on the particle surface.