Viruses as a tool in nanotechnology and target for conjugated polymers

Viruses are unique and diverse biological entities that continuously remain in the focus of medicine and science. Today they are not only being recognized for their clinical implications, but also as an inspiration and a powerful tool in multidisciplinary materials science. In this work, we address both aspects.
In the context of exploring viruses as a building block for nanotechnology, we introduce single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as a new type of template for formation of virus-like hybrids. The study of a nature inspired, DNA-guided assembly of viral coat proteins around SWCNTs reveals diverse interaction modes of plant viruses with SWCNTs. The resulting hybrids were used to construct functional field effect transistors, characterized by on/off ratios that are as high as 10^5 despite the presence of two layers of biological macromolecules. Such virus-SWCNT active layers may play an important role in future biosensing applications.
In the second part of this thesis we investigate the interaction of ionic conjugated polymers with Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Two oppositely charged, water soluble polyfluorenes were used as modulators of retroviral activity. We show that the negatively charged polyfluorene exhibits a virucidal character, while the cationic variant is characterized by the opposite activity promoting viral infections. We demonstrate that both polyfluorenes have no cytotoxicity and afterwards we elucidate their mode of action with model liposomal membrane system.