(204c) Exploiting Nanotechnology to Visualize Viral Infection and Deliver Protein Therapeutics | AIChE

(204c) Exploiting Nanotechnology to Visualize Viral Infection and Deliver Protein Therapeutics

Authors 

Wang, P. - Presenter, University of Southern California


Nanotechnology has many promising applications for biomedicine and biomedical research. We have been exploring nanotechnology-enabled means for elucidating intracellular trafficking features of individual viral particles within target cells. Elucidating molecular mechanisms of viral infection can reveal novel therapeutic opportunities for controlling virus pandemics and pathogenesis. We have recently developed methods to label both enveloped and non-enveloped viruses with semiconductor quantum dots (QDs). It was demonstrated that such labeling schemes can enable us to visualize the detailed steps of viral infection routes and the dynamic interactions between viruses and target cells. The enveloped viruses can be reliably tagged with QDs through the insertion of a short acceptor peptide onto the viral membrane that is further site-specifically biotinylated and attached with streptavidin-conjugated QDs. We have also identified a mild condition to directly conjugate QDs to capsid proteins of non-enveloped viruses. We are able to monitor the trafficking of these QD-tagged viral particles within cells using the live cell imaging technique and reveal some previously unappreciated interactions between viruses and cellular structures. In collaboration with colleagues from other laboratories, we have developed a nanoparticle-based method for intracellular delivery of therapeutic proteins. The method involves the encapsulation of proteins into a nanosized cage that is responsible to the cellular environment for cargo release. Currently we are exploring this delivery system for therapeutic applications against cancer.