(107c) Invited: Tailored Virus-like Particles for Biomedicine and Catalysis

Viruses and virus-like particles are the largest scaffolds conveniently available to the molecular scientist with structures known to atomic resolution. They therefore represent unique tools with which to explore a variety of questions in nanoscience, biology, and materials research. Our work in recent years has focused on the particle derived from the bacteriophage Q-beta capsid as a model system. Methods for the chemical and genetic modification of the coat protein, its targeting to particular cell types, and its use in immunology and as a container for functional biological molecules will be described.