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 x 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.