(Anti)viral Material Design Guided by Scattering Methods

Abstract

Viruses are nature’s nanoparticles that are highly symmetric and monodisperse in size and shape with well-defined surface chemistry. They have evolved for optimal cell interactions, genetic information delivery, and replication by the host cell over millions of years. These features render them highly efficient pathogens that place a severe burden on the health of our society. At the same time, they are fascinating objects for colloidal studies and as building blocks for advanced bio-inspired materials. Their characterisation requires sophisticated experimental techniques such as X-ray, neutron, and light scattering that allow probing the structures and interactions on a nanometre to micrometre length scale in solution. This contribution summarises the recent progress in virus self-assembly and virus-based biopolymer composites for advanced material design. It discusses the advances and highlights challenges in characterising structures and dynamics in these materials, focusing on scattering techniques. It further demonstrates selected applications in the field of food and water purification.