Virus-based fabrication of micro- and nanofibers using electrospinning

Abstract

Long rod-shaped M13 viruses were used to fabricate one-dimensional (1D) micro- and nanosized diameter fibers by mimicking the spinning process of the silk spider. Liquid crystalline virus suspensions were extruded through the micrometer diameter capillary tubes in a cross-linking solution of glutaraldehyde. Resulting fibers were 10-20 μm in diameter. AFM imaging verified that the molecular long axis of the virus fibers was parallel to the fiber long axis. M13 viruses were suspended in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2- propanol and were then electrospun into fibers. After blending with a highly water soluble polymer, polyvinyl pyrolidone (PVP), M13 viruses were spun into continuous uniform virus-blended PVP (virus-PVP) nanofibers. Resulting virus-PVP electrospun fibers maintained their ability to infect bacterial hosts after resuspending in buffer solution.