Chemical labeling and crosslinking of tobacco mosaic virus via multi-diazonium reagents: examples, applications, and prospects

Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is a rod-shaped hollow plant viral nanoparticle (300 nm × 18 nm) and exhibits abundant amino acid residues on the surface of capsid proteins for facile chemical labeling. The use of TMV as a nano-template to produce materials with multiple functions has received particular attention in the past decade. In addition, TMV can be largely produced in gram-scale quantities and is also considered much safe for mammals. Hence, using TMV as building blocks to assemble biomaterials ( e.g. , hydrogels) has emerged as an attractive field for biomedical applications. This minireview details up-to-date research on the development of bench-stable diazonium reagents and their applications for TMV labeling and crosslinking. The strategy for the preparation of virus-based hydrogels is highlighted. We hope that this review will inspire the development of a large number of plant virus-based biomaterials for various applications in the near future.