Mechanical Deformation of Spherical Viruses with Icosahedral Symmetry

Vliegenthart, G. A.; Gompper, G.

doi:10.1529/biophysj.106.081422

Journal Article

PreJuSER-52397

Mechanical Deformation of Spherical Viruses with Icosahedral Symmetry

Vliegenthart, G. A.FZJ* ; Gompper, G.FZJ*

2006
Rockefeller Univ. Press New York, NY

Biophysical journal 91, 834 - 841 (2006) [10.1529/biophysj.106.081422]

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Please use a persistent id in citations: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/1537 doi:10.1529/biophysj.106.081422

Abstract: Virus capsids and crystalline surfactant vesicles are two examples of self-assembled shells in the nano- to micrometer size range. Virus capsids are particularly interesting since they have to sustain large internal pressures while encapsulating and protecting the viral DNA. We therefore study the mechanical properties of crystalline shells of icosahedral symmetry on a substrate under a uniaxial applied force by computer simulations. We predict the elastic response for small deformations, and the buckling transitions at large deformations. Both are found to depend strongly on the number of elementary building blocks N (the capsomers in the case of viral shells), the Föppl-von Kármán number gamma (which characterizes the relative importance of shear and bending elasticity), and the confining geometry. In particular, we show that whereas large shells are well described by continuum elasticity-theory, small shells of the size of typical viral capsids behave differently already for small deformations. Our results are essential to extract quantitative information about the elastic properties of viruses and vesicles from deformation experiments.

Keyword(s): Biophysics: methods (MeSH) ; Capsid: chemistry (MeSH) ; Capsid Proteins (MeSH) ; Computer Simulation (MeSH) ; Elasticity (MeSH) ; Kinetics (MeSH) ; Models, Statistical (MeSH) ; Virus Assembly (MeSH) ; Virus Physiological Phenomena (MeSH) ; Viruses: chemistry (MeSH) ; Capsid Proteins ; J