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Published on: February 11, 2018
Virus-inspired functional spherical biomaterials constructed from high-symmetry biomacromolecules: design and
Kazunori Matsuura1,2, Hiroshi Inaba1,2,3
1Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Tottori University, 4-101 Koyama-Minami, Tottori 680-8552, Japan. ma2ra-k@tottori-u.ac.jp.
Abstract:
Virus-inspired spherical biomaterials composed of highly symmetric biomacromolecules have attracted considerable attention as versatile platforms for biomedical and material applications. In natural viruses, protein subunits spontaneously self-assemble into well-defined capsid structures with nanoscale dimensions and discrete internal spaces. Inspired by these architectural features, a wide variety of artificial spherical assemblies constructed from DNA, peptides, and proteins have been developed through rational molecular design. In particular, tripodal (C3-symmetric) molecular designs that mimic the principles of viral capsid assembly have enabled the efficient construction of virus-like nanocages with controllable size, morphology, and function. This review summarizes recent advances in the design of spherical biomaterials assembled from high-symmetry biomacromolecules, focusing on DNA-based condensates, peptide cages, protein cages, artificial virus-like capsids, and enveloped virus-like capsids, and discusses their biomedical applications.
