Using the Interior Cavity of the P22 Capsid for Site Specific Initiation of Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization with Tremendously Increased Cargo Loading

摘要

Virus-like particles (VLPs) have emerged as important and versatile architectures for chemical manipulation in the development of functional hybrid nanostructures. Here we have successfully demonstrated the site selective initiation of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) reactions to form an addressable polymer constrained within the interior cavity of a VLP. This protein-polymer hybrid, of P22 and crosslinked poly(2-aminoethyl methacrylate), is potentially useful as a new high-density delivery vehicle for encapsulation and delivery of small molecule cargos. In particular, the encapsulated polymer can act as a scaffold for the attachment of primary amine reactive molecules of interest, such as a fluorescein dye or a Gd-DTPA MRI contrast agent. Using this approach, a significant increase in labeling density of the VLP, compared to previous modifications of VLPs, can be achieved. These results highlight the use of multimeric protein-polymer conjugates for their potential utility in the development of VLP-based MRI contrast agents with the possibility of loading other cargos.