NANOBIOPHYSICS OF NEW TYPE CORONAVIRUS

ABSTRACT

The Covid-19 pandemic has swept across the world, causing a never seen burden on our health care systems and challenging biomedical research to give appropriate answers to the epidemic. Modern, one-particle biophysical methods ensure special insight to the characteristics of the cause of the epidemic, the SARS-CoV-2. The virus carries a crown-like layer of spike proteins, which plays a fundamental role in the process of infection. The topography structure and mechanical characteristics of native virions have been determined by atomic force microscopy. Spike proteins form a dynamic surface due to their flexibility and motility. Virions are surprisingly resistant to mechanical compression, and their structure is able to recover after mechanical perturbation. The global structure of the virus is resistant to heat effect, but spike proteins dissociate from the surface with higher temperatures. The mechanical and dynamic characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 contribute to its virulence. The applied one-particle biophysical methods play an important role in understanding and fighting with the more common virus infections. © 2022 Literatura Medica Publishing House. All rights reserved.