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2.19). This strategy is commonly used by other cylindrical viruses
and by spherical viruses like the satellite tobacco necrosis virus
(2buk)[92]whoseicosahedralcapsidprovidesaveryefficient
shieldforitsRNAcore(Fig.2.20).Moreover,thesevirusesusetheir
envelope as an addressing device. Portions of their outer shell are
specificallyrecognizedbythetargetorganismthevirus“wishes”to
infect.
Figure 2.19
PortionoftheTMVcapsidanditsRNA.(a)topview.(b)side
view. (c) Schematic representation of a TMV-like nanotube.
The available space for guests is shown as a yellow stick.
Stacking of sufficiently rigid lactams (with
-amides) can
provide self-assembled cylindrical objects reminiscent of the TMV
capsid.Similarly,tilingofnearlyflatpolyamides(with
E
-amides) can
lead to capsid-like spheres. There now remains to transform these
primitive supramolecular containers into “intelligent” drug delivery
systems.Thiswillbeachievedbyfirstadjustingthepolarityof
their surface. Targeting devices may be also attached to selectively
deliver the drug to the desired location. These added parts may be
immunoglobulins recognized by cancerous cells. The most important
part of our endeavor will probably consist in modulating the strength
Z
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