Figure 3
Conjugation of Tat (FAM) peptide to P22-MVIIA VLPs.
(a) Schematic representation of the synthesis and conjugation procedure. Synthesized Tat peptide, bearing a fluorescent Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FAM) molecule (green circle), is activated with maleimidopropionic acid (MPA). The activated peptide is then conjugated via a free thiol group in M338C P22 mutant coat protein onto the VLP exterior. (b) PAGE showing the unmodified coat protein (*46.5 kDa) in lane 1, the increase in MW of the modified coat protein band (#48.7 kDa) in lane 2 and a molecular weight marker in lane 3. (c) HPLC-MALS data showing the average MW (blue) and the SEC elution profile (red) of the conjugated nanocontainer. (d) TEM image of conjugated Tat(FAM)P22-MVIIA nanocontainers indicating the integrity of the constructed VLPs. Scale bar: 100 nm.
