Viral nanomechanics with a virtual atomic force microscope

Journal of Physics. Condensed Matter : an Institute of Physics Journal
María AznarDavid Reguera

Abstract

One of the most important components of a virus is the protein shell or capsid that encloses its genetic material. The main role of the capsid is to protect the viral genome against external aggressions, facilitating its safe and efficient encapsulation and delivery. As a consequence, viral capsids have developed astonishing mechanical properties that are crucial for viral function. These remarkable properties have started to be unveiled in single-virus nanoindentation experiments, and are opening the door to the use of viral-derived artificial nanocages for promising bio- and nano-technological applications. However, the interpretation of nanoindentation experiments is often difficult, requiring the support of theoretical and simulation analysis. Here we present a 'Virtual AFM' (VAFM), a Brownian Dynamics simulation of a coarse-grained model of virus aimed to mimic the standard setup of atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanoindentation experiments. Despite the heavy level of coarse-graining, these simulations provide valuable information which is not accessible in experiments. Rather than focusing on a specific virus, the VAFM will be used to analyze how the mechanical response and breaking of viruses depend on different parameter...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jun 9, 2018·Journal of Physics. Condensed Matter : an Institute of Physics Journal·Marek Cieplak, Wouter H Roos
Dec 15, 2018·Journal of Computational Chemistry·Jonathan CampeggioMirco Zerbetto
Jun 27, 2019·ACS Nano·Mercedes Hernando-PérezBogdan Dragnea

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
optical tweezers
AFM
imaging technique

Software Mentioned

VIPERdb
BD

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