Speaker
Description
Plant viruses represent highly uniform and genetically programmable nanoscale building blocks for bottom-up nanotechnology. Over the past years, we have used the icosahedral Tomato Bushy Stunt Virus (TBSV, diameter ~ 30 nm) as a versatile platform for the fabrication of ordered virus-based nanostructures. This work summarizes a research line developed in our group from virus self-assembly and pattern formation to multilayer virus architectures and the first TBSV-templated nanoactuator system based on upright M13 viruses (rod-shaped bacteriophages, 800 nm long, diameter 6 nm).
Starting from the controlled self-assembly of genetically modified TBSV particles, we demonstrated how parameters like electrostatic interactions and virus concentration govern the formation of highly ordered two-dimensional virus monolayers on solid substrates. Subsequently, directed patterning approaches based on focused ion beam lithography and FluidFM enabled the fabrication of predefined 2D virus architectures (top-down and bottom-up) with micrometer and sub-micrometer resolution.
To overcome the limited stability of purely electrostatic assemblies, specific molecular recognition systems were introduced. Covalently immobilized Strep-Tactin layers in combination with Strep-Tag II modified TBSV particles yielded highly stable virus monolayers and enabled the realization of multilayer virus architectures through layer-by-layer assembly.
Building on these developments, we recently established a hierarchical virus nanoarchitecture consisting of a covalently immobilized TBSV template and specifically bound filamentous M13 bacteriophages. Modified M13 bacteriophages were immobilized via specific recognition on top of the Strep-Tag II TBSV layer and remained predominantly upright, as verified by high-resolution scanning force microscopy (SFM). The resulting architecture represents an important step toward biologically derived nanoactuators and virus-based electromechanical systems.
The presented work illustrates how fundamental studies on virus self-assembly can evolve into functional hierarchical nanostructures and highlights the potential of plant-virus-based architectures for future biosensing and nanoactuation applications.
[1] A. Lüders, C. Müller, K. Boonrod, G. Krczal, C. Ziegler, Colloids Surf. B 91 (2012) 154–161.
[2] V. Rink, C. Müller-Renno, M. Braun, K. Boonrod, G. Krczal, C. Ziegler, Phys. Status Solidi C 13 (2016) 163–166.
[3] V. Rink, C. Müller-Renno, C. Ziegler et al., Electrostatic Conditions Define the 2D Self-Assembly of Tomato Bushy Stunt Viruses on Solid Surfaces (2017).
[4] C. Müller-Renno, D. Remmel, M. Braun, K. Boonrod, G. Krczal, C. Ziegler, Phys. Status Solidi A 218 (2021) 2100259.
[5] T. He, M. Braun, K. Boonrod, C. Müller-Renno, G. Krczal, C. Ziegler, 2D-Ordered Layers of Tomato Bushy Stunt Virus via Specific Binding (2025).
[6] T. He, C. Zobeley, M. Braun, K. Boonrod, C. Müller-Renno, G. Krczal, C. Ziegler, Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Plant Viruses Utilizing Specific Binding, Phys. Status Solidi A (2025).
