Virus Functional Modification Based on Biomimetic Mineralization

Dear Colleagues,

Viruses, as a natural nanoplatform with highly symmetrical architectures, have immense potential in chemistry, materials science and medicine. The polyvalent interfacial ligands of viruses are feasible for the programmable assembly and materials synthesis. In the meantime, material-based virus engineering also enables the on-demand biological or physicochemical modification of viruses. The versatility of the virus–material complex can render evolved biological functions such as survival, retargeting delivery, imaging, immune recognition, vaccination, and immunotherapy, together with advanced fabrication of virus-based devices, such as nanoreactors, electrodes, and energy conversion. As an alternative to biotechnology, chemical approaches are emerging to promote the function evolution of viruses and rational design of novel hybrid materials. Intriguingly, in nature, many organisms harness biomolecules and inorganic materials to evolve exquisite organic-inorganic biological nanostructures through the biomineralization process, which inspires the development of biomimetic strategies for virus modification. Thus, learning from the identified mechanism of biomineralization, the virus-materials hybrid with unique compositional, morphological, and structural features can be realized through the regulatory effect of the biological matrix, and, importantly, either structure or function can be well addressed using such a bioinspired chemical strategy.

Recent years (especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic) have witnessed a growing interest in studies of the chemical modification of viruses. However, there remains an urgent need to exploit alternative and novel strategies to turn viruses into useful tools rather than foes. Herein, this Special Issue will be focused on the design and construction of virus-based inorganic-organic complexes via biomimetic strategies and their corresponding applications. In addition, we also welcome studies of the interplay between inorganic nanomaterials and microbes that range in size from nanometers to microns, such as animal viruses, plant viruses, phages, and bacteria, etc. This Special Issue will highlight the progress in the field of the design and application of organism-hybrid materials using biomineralization-inspired engineering.

Dr. Xiaoyu Wang
Prof. Dr. Caijun Sun
Guest Editors

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