Researchers Turn Viruses Into Molecular Legos

Researchers at the University of California have found a way to use a harmless virus to assemble fibers that are similar to collagen. Collagen's most important property is its structure and alignment, and these viruses, when assembled, have similar mechanical properties to naturally occurring collagen. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body and is found in teeth, eyes, skin, and many other areas of the body. The arrangement of collagen fibers gives these structures their mechanical properties. For example, the evenly spaced arrangement in the cornea minimizes the scattering of light in order to maximize clarity of the image. Researchers chose the M13 virus because it is not harmful to humans, and it has a long helical shape similar to that of collagen. Sheets of the virus are formed by dipping a sheet of glass into a solution containing M13. Pulling the glass out at various speeds created different patterns of the virus. Liquid viscosity, rate of evaporation, and surface tension were also variables. They were able to create three different patterns. Chung explains, "We can determine the type of structure we get through this technique by fine-tuning the factors that influence the kinetics and thermodynamics of the assembly process.We can control the levels of order, direction of the twist, as well as the width, height and spacing of the film patterns." The basis of this research was the understanding of how collagen is created naturally. The researchers were able to take this knowledge and apply it to a laboratory setting.


Source:
http://insciences.org/article.php?article_id=10467