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Membrane Fluidity Sensing on the Single Virus Particle Level with Plasmonic Nanoparticle Transducers.
Amin Feizpour, David Stelter, Crystal Wong
1Department of Microbiology, Boston University School of Medicine , Boston, Massachusetts 02118, United States.
ACS Sensors
|September 22, 2017
Summary
Researchers developed a new microscopy technique to measure viral membrane fluidity at the single-virus level. This method reveals how cholesterol content affects membrane properties, offering insights into viral behavior.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Nanotechnology
- Virology
Background:
- Viral membranes are crucial nanomaterials whose fluidity is influenced by composition, particularly cholesterol.
- Variations in membrane composition among individual virus particles can impact their intracellular behavior.
- There is a need for biophysical tools to assess membrane fluidity at the single-virus level.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and apply a novel microscopy technique for measuring single-virus-like particle (VLP) membrane fluidity.
- To investigate the impact of cholesterol content on VLP membrane fluidity.
- To explore the dependence of membrane fluidity on temperature and cholesterol extraction.
Main Methods:
- Developed plasmonic polarization fluctuation tracking microscopy (PFTM) for single-VLP analysis.
- Utilized gold or silver nanoparticle (NP)-labeled VLPs to track light scattering polarization fluctuations.
- Performed cholesterol extraction studies using varying concentrations of methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MβCD).
Main Results:
- Fluctuations in scattered light polarization from NP-labeled VLPs correlate with individual VLP membrane fluidity.
- PFTM enabled the first single-VLP level investigation of cholesterol's effect on membrane fluidity and temperature dependence.
- Cholesterol extraction using MβCD progressively reduced polarization fluctuations, indicating decreased membrane fluidity.
- Observed significant heterogeneity in cholesterol extraction rates among individual VLPs, which increased with lower MβCD concentrations.
Conclusions:
- Plasmonic polarization fluctuation tracking microscopy (PFTM) is a powerful tool for quantifying single-VLP membrane fluidity.
- Cholesterol content significantly influences viral membrane fluidity, with implications for viral behavior.
- Heterogeneity in membrane composition exists among individual virus particles, affecting their biophysical properties and response to treatments.
