| Abstract
| - The protein shell of the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) provides a robust and practical tubelikescaffold for the preparation of nanoscale materials. To expand the range of applications for which thecapsid can be used, two synthetic strategies have been developed for the attachment of new functionalityto either the exterior or the interior surface of the virus. The first of these is accomplished using a highlyefficient diazonium coupling/oxime formation sequence, which installs >2000 copies of a material componenton the capsid exterior. Alternatively, the inner cavity of the tube can be modified by attaching amines toglutamic acid side chains through a carbodiimide coupling reaction. Both of these reactions have beendemonstrated for a series of substrates, including biotin, chromophores, and crown ethers. Through theattachment of PEG polymers to the capsid exterior, organic-soluble TMV rods have been prepared. Finally,the orthogonality of these reactions has been demonstrated by installing different functional groups on theexterior and interior surfaces of the same capsid assemblies.
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