Chemical Modification of Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) Nanoparticles
Abstract
Tobacco has an ill reputation from negatively impacting health in the form of cigarettes. Smoking has been directly linked to lung cancer which, according to the American Lung Association, will cause an estimated 154,050 Americans to die in 2018, accounting for approximately 25 percent of all cancer deaths. Tobacco is the cause of the deadly disease, however, the research aims to use tobacco to develop medicine. Specifically, the research focuses on using a virus from tobacco plant. Plant viral nanoparticles (VNP) are a promising type of nanocarrier that is degradable, can be chemically and genetically modified, and safe for human use. VNPs are used to display cancerous cell antigens. Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is a commonly used rod-shaped plant virus that is 300nm in length. Its viral capsid contains 2130 identical coat proteins assembled in a helical structure. This project produced a mutant of TMV that contains solvent exposed lysine residues (TMV-EPMK) through modification with cell targeting motifs. EPMK is the amino acid sequence code associated with the TMV mutant. E is glutamate, P is proline, M is methionine, and K is lysine. TMV samples were propagated with tobacco plants. A TMV sample was then isolated and purified through centrifugation. Afterwards, a bioconjugation was performed with TMV and diazonium salt to produce TMV-EPMK. This process was confirmed with Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry, an analytical technique that measures the mass-to-charge ratios of samples. Future research would involve attaching folic acid to TMV-EPMK in order to target cancer cells.
Chemical Modification of Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) Nanoparticles
Founders Hall 111 A
Tobacco has an ill reputation from negatively impacting health in the form of cigarettes. Smoking has been directly linked to lung cancer which, according to the American Lung Association, will cause an estimated 154,050 Americans to die in 2018, accounting for approximately 25 percent of all cancer deaths. Tobacco is the cause of the deadly disease, however, the research aims to use tobacco to develop medicine. Specifically, the research focuses on using a virus from tobacco plant. Plant viral nanoparticles (VNP) are a promising type of nanocarrier that is degradable, can be chemically and genetically modified, and safe for human use. VNPs are used to display cancerous cell antigens. Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is a commonly used rod-shaped plant virus that is 300nm in length. Its viral capsid contains 2130 identical coat proteins assembled in a helical structure. This project produced a mutant of TMV that contains solvent exposed lysine residues (TMV-EPMK) through modification with cell targeting motifs. EPMK is the amino acid sequence code associated with the TMV mutant. E is glutamate, P is proline, M is methionine, and K is lysine. TMV samples were propagated with tobacco plants. A TMV sample was then isolated and purified through centrifugation. Afterwards, a bioconjugation was performed with TMV and diazonium salt to produce TMV-EPMK. This process was confirmed with Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry, an analytical technique that measures the mass-to-charge ratios of samples. Future research would involve attaching folic acid to TMV-EPMK in order to target cancer cells.
