Structure, size, physicochemical properties and production strategies make many plant viruses ideal protein based nanoscaffolds, nanocontainers and nano-building blocks expected to deliver a multitude of applications in different fields such as biomedicine, pharmaceutical chemistry, separation science, catalytic chemistry, crop pest control and biomaterials science. Functionalization of viral nanoparticles through modification by design of their external and internal surfaces is essential to fully exploit the potentiality of these objects. In the present paper we describe the development of a plant derived multifunctional tool for nanobiotechnology based on Tomato bushy stunt virus. We demonstrate the ability of this system to remarkably sustain genetic modifications and in vitro chemical derivatizations of its outer surface, which resulted in the successful display of large chimeric peptides fusions and small chemical molecules, respectively. Moreover, we have defined physicochemical conditions for viral swelling and reversible viral pore gating that we have successfully employed for foreign molecules loading and retention in the inner cavity of this plant virus nanoparticles system. Finally, a production and purification strategy from Nicotiana benthamiana plants has been addressed and optimized. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Cited By :2Export Date: 17 July 2015CODEN: TRSEECorrespondence Address: Santi, L.; Department of Agriculture, Forests, Nature and Energy (DAFNE), Università della Tuscia, Via San Camillo de Lellis snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy; email: luca.santi@unitus.itChemicals/CAS: biotin, 58-85-5; lysine, 56-87-1, 6899-06-5, 70-54-2; Biotin, 6SO6U10H04; Lysine, K3Z4F929H6; Recombinant Fusion ProteinsReferences: Aramayo, R., Merigoux, C., Larquet, E., Bron, P., Perez, J., Dumas, C., Vachette, P., Boisset, N., Divalent ion-dependent swelling of tomato bushy stunt virus: a multi-approach study (2005) Biochim Biophys Acta, 1724 (3), pp. 345-354. , doi:10.1016/j.bbagen.2005.05.020;Ashley, C.E., Carnes, E.C., Phillips, G.K., Durfee, P.N., Buley, M.D., Lino, C.A., Padilla, D.P., Peabody, D.S., Cell-specific delivery of diverse cargos by bacteriophage MS2 virus-like particles (2011) ACS Nano, 5 (7), pp. 5729-5745. , doi:10.1021/nn201397z; Avesani, L., Marconi, G., Morandini, F., Albertini, E., Bruschetta, M., Bortesi, L., Pezzotti, M., Porceddu, A., Stability of Potato virus X expression vectors is related to insert size: implications for replication models and risk assessment (2007) Transgenic Res, 16 (5), pp. 587-597. , doi:10.1007/s11248-006-9051-1; 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