Characterization of liquid crystalline properties of filamentous viruses conjugated with photo-responsive molecules

Abstract

One of the filamentous viruses, M13 bacteriophage (phage), has attracted growing interest as a functional biopolymer assembly due to its liquid crystalline properties and designable functionalities based on genetic engineering and organic synthetic approaches. Recent studies revealed that phage could be utilized as superior building blocks for functional soft materials. By controlling the assembled states of phages by external stimuli, the potential applications of phage-based soft materials can be broadened. Herein, phages were chemically modified with azobenzene derivatives through an amidation reaction and the liquid crystalline properties of the azobenzene-modified phages were analyzed by polarized optical microscopy. It was revealed that 1600 molecules of the azobenzene derivatives were conjugated to a single phage. The liquid crystalline structure of the azobenzenemodified phage changed in response to ultraviolet light. Our findings will contribute to the construction of stimuli-responsive smart soft materials.