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Updated: Jun 5, 2026
13:00
Engineering Antiviral Agents via Surface Plasmon Resonance
Published on: June 14, 2022
Setting Boundaries: Surface Engineering of Viral-Inspired Materials
Daniel de Castro Assumpção1, Danielle Tullman-Ercek1, Nolan W Kennedy1
1Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA ;
Annual Review of Virology
|June 3, 2026
Summary
Viral-inspired materials (VIMs) leverage viral precision and synthetic design for advanced applications. Surface engineering strategies enable VIMs to bridge biology and technology, creating dynamic, programmable, and multifunctional materials.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Biotechnology
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Viral-inspired materials (VIMs) combine viral nanoscale precision with synthetic versatility.
- VIMs create interfaces bridging biological and technological systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review surface engineering strategies governing the structure-function relationship of VIMs.
- To highlight design approaches and applications of VIMs.
Main Methods:
- Review of six core design strategies for VIMs: natural surface utilization, genetic/chemical decoration, hybrid composites, geometric control, stimuli-responsive materials, and hierarchical assembly.
- Exploration of emerging trends like unconventional protein architectures, de novo protein design, and hybrid material creation.
Main Results:
- Surface engineering strategies significantly influence VIM structure and function.
- These strategies expand VIM diversity for biomedical, catalytic, and electronic applications.
Conclusions:
- VIMs are powerful platforms for dynamic, programmable, and multifunctional materials.
- Integration of biological precision and synthetic design is key to VIM advancement.
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