Tomato bushy stunt viruses (TBSV) in nanotechnology investigated by scanning force and scanning electron microscopy

Spherical plant viruses like the tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV) allow for multiple applications in nanotechnology due to their shape. In this article, different types of the virus were created by extending coat protein (CP) at carboxylic termini with 2 different charged amino acids by point mutation. The obtained CPs carried 6 aspartic acid (negative charge) and 4 histamine (positive charge) residues. The ability of TBSV to form self assembled monolayers with large ordered areas on native and chemically modified mica will be presented. The structural differences between layers formed by the wild type and by the genetically modified types will be discussed in detail.

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► Genetically modified tomato bushy stunt virus is applicable as self assembled biomolecule for nanostructures.
► Negative virus particles form a regular surface coverage.
► The interaction between the virus particles and the surface can be explained by electrostatic interaction.
► In future the virus particles will be tested to build electronic devices.