The supramolecular chemistry of protein cages and viruses
Yu Heng Lau
A *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Eastern Avenue, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia.
Australian Journal of Chemistry - https://doi.org/10.1071/CH23102
Submitted: 31 May 2023 Accepted: 28 July 2023 Published online: 22 August 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
There are many examples of protein cages in nature, from the outer capsid shells of viruses that protect their genetic material, to simple organelle-like structures in bacteria that house enzymes within their interior. This Account serves to introduce the world of protein cages to a chemical audience, and highlight the many similarities to concepts from supramolecular chemistry, revealing how a knowledge base in chemistry can provide the foundation for valuable insights into fundamental questions and biomolecular engineering challenges in the field.
Keywords: nanoparticles, physical virology, protein cages, protein engineering, self-assembly, supramolecular chemistry, synthetic biology, viruses.
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