Assembly of Multilayer Films Incorporating a Viral Protein Cage Architecture

Protein cage architectures such as viral capsids, heat shock proteins, ferritins, and DNA-binding proteins are nanoscale modular subunits that can be used to expand the structural and functional range of composite materials. Here, layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly was used to incorporate cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV) into multilayer films. Three types of multilayer films were prepared. In the first type, ionic interactions were employed to assemble CCMV into triple layers. In the second type, complementary biological interactions (streptavidin/biotin) were used for this purpose. In a third variation of LbL assembly, complementary biological interactions were employed to produce nanotextured films that exhibit in-plane order over a micron scale without the need to adsorb onto a prepatterned template.