Session 10

Electrical properties of the inner space of infectious bacteriophage MS2

Volodymyr Farafonov
on  Thu, 15:10 for  20min
N. Vodolazkaya, I. Budzanivska, V. Farafonov, O. Bondarenko, V. Bardyk, M. Bakumenko, D. Nerukh
1. Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Svoboda Sq. 4, Kharkiv, 61022, Ukraine
2. Virology Department, ESC ‘Institute of Biology and Medicine’, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, 64/13, Volodymyrska Str., Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine
3. Department of Mathematics, Aston University, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK
4. Molecular Physics Department, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, 64/13, Volodymyrska Str., Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine
d.nerukh@aston.ac.uk

Abstract

Using protein complexes as a basis for developing nanoscale materials has drawn increasing interest. In this sense, viral capsids attract particular attention as they provide robust monodisperse structures of varying sizes and shapes. The interior of these particles has been utilized as a template for the synthesis of metal oxide particles in inorganic materials, as the basis of the self-assembling system for recognition and ordering nanocrystals. The structure of virus capsids was adapted as a biological template for the nucleation and orientation of semiconductor nanowires and composites and building blocks for 2D and 3D materials.

Bacteriophage MS2 has many advantages in targeted drug delivery, clinical diagnostic tools and for vaccine development. MS2 bacteriophage is used as a model virus to evaluate the effectiveness of antiviral and antiseptic drugs and is an essential instrument for research on water treatment and purification, particularly filtration and disinfection processes [1,2].

Our study is devoted to the de novo synthesis of infectious MS2 bacteriophage in the presence of acid–base molecular probes designed to enable their incorporation during capsid assembly and to probe the internal electrostatic environment of the virus [3,4]. Transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, ζ-potential measurements, UV–Vis spectroscopy, and the apparent values were combined with molecular dynamics simulations. Neutral Red incorporated into MS2 exhibited a significant increase in value compared to pure water, the so-called medium effect (), corresponding to an estimated electrostatic potential of approximately −216 ± 8 mV. This behaviour is consistent with the localisation of the probe in a strongly anionic microenvironment associated with the RNA-containing interior rather than the capsid outer surface.

Comparative analysis with anionic micellar systems, liposomes, DNA solutions, and protein-based media showed that similar spectral shifts occur only in highly anionic environments.

Molecular dynamics simulations support these findings and indicate preferential localisation of the probe inside the capsid in proximity to RNA. These results demonstrate that the MS2 interior is characterized by a highly negative electrostatic potential governed by genomic RNA and illustrate the applicability of molecular probes for studying nanoscale electrostatic environments in viral systems.

References

[1] Lin Chen, et.al., Curr. Res. Food Sci., V. 5, Page 175 (2022).

[2] V. Baldasso, et.al., Water Research, V.203, Page 117496 (2021).

[3] N. Vodolazkaya, et.al., The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, V.126, Page 8166 (2022).

[4] N. Vodolazkaya, et.al., International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, V.364, Page 152268 (2026)