Delivery of Spherical and Cylindrical Reconstituted Virus-like Particles Containing the Same Self-Amplifying mRNA.

The dramatic effectiveness of recent mRNA (mRNA)-based COVID vaccines delivered in lipid nanoparticles has highlighted the promise of mRNA therapeutics in general. In this report, we extend our earlier work on self-amplifying mRNAs delivered in spherical reconstituted virus-like particles (VLPs), and on drug delivery using cylindrical virus particles. In particular, we carry out separate assemblies of a self-amplifying mRNA gene in two different virus-like particles: one spherical, formed with the capsid protein of cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV), and the other cylindrical, formed from the capsid protein of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV).

Spontaneous bilayer wrapping of virus particles by a phospholipid Langmuir monolayer.

We report here the spontaneous formation of lipid-bilayer-wrapped virus particles, following the injection of "naked" virus particles into the subphase of a Langmuir trough with a liquid monolayer of lipids at its air-water interface. The virus particles are those of the well-studied cowpea chlorotic mottle virus, CCMV, which are negatively charged at the pH 6 of the subphase; the lipids are a 9:1 mix of neutral DMPC and cationic CTAB molecules. Before adding CCMV particles to the subphase we establish the mixed lipid monolayer in its liquid-expanded state at a fixed pressure (17.

Long ssRNA undergoes continuous compaction in the presence of polyvalent cations.

In the presence of polyvalent cations, long double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) in dilute solution undergoes a single-molecule, first-order, phase transition ("condensation"), a phenomenon that has been documented and analyzed by many years of experimental and theoretical studies. There has been no systematic effort, however, to determine whether long single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) shows an analogous behavior. In this study, using dynamic light scattering, analytical ultracentrifugation, and gel electrophoresis, we examine the effects of increasing polyvalent cation concentrations on the effective size of long ssRNAs ranging from 3000 to 12,000 nucleotides.

Controlling the surface charge of simple viruses.

The vast majority of plant viruses are unenveloped, i.e., they lack a lipid bilayer that is characteristic of most animal viruses.

Encapsidation of Different Plasmonic Gold Nanoparticles by the CCMV CP.

Different types of gold nanoparticles have been synthesized that show great potential in medical applications such as medical imaging, bio-analytical sensing and photothermal cancer therapy. However, their stability, polydispersity and biocompatibility are major issues of concern. For example, the synthesis of gold nanorods, obtained through the elongated micelle process, produce them with a high positive surface charge that is cytotoxic, while gold nanoshells are unstable and break down in a few weeks due to the Ostwald ripening process.