Binding Capabilities of Different Genetically Engineered pVIII Proteins of the Filamentous M13/Fd Virus and Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Binding functional biomolecules to non-biological materials, such as single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), is a challenging task with relevance for different applications. However, no one has yet undertaken a comparison of the binding of SWNTs to different recombinant filamentous viruses (phages) bioengineered to contain different binding peptides fused to the virus coat proteins. This is important due to the range of possible binding efficiencies and scenarios that may arise when the protein’s amino acid sequence is modified, since the peptides may alter the virus’s biological properties or they may behave differently when they are in the context of being displayed on the virus coat protein; in addition, non-engineered viruses may non-specifically adsorb to SWNTs. To test these possibilities, we used four recombinant phage templates and the wild type. In the first circumstance, we observed different binding capabilities and biological functional alterations; e.g., some peptides, in the context of viral templates, did not bind to SWNTs, although it was proven that the bare peptide did. The second circumstance was excluded, as the wild-type virus was found to hardly bind to the SWNTs. These results may be relevant to the possible use of the virus as a “SWNT shuttle” in nano-scale self-assembly, particularly since the pIII proteins are free to act as binding-directing agents. Therefore, knowledge of the differences between and efficiencies of SWNT binding templates may help in choosing better binding phages or peptides for possible future applications and industrial mass production.