Figure 1: Strategy for the assembly and optically triggered disassembly of a hierarchical CCMV–dendron complex.
From: Self-assembly and optically triggered disassembly of hierarchical dendron–virus complexes
a, Optically degradable dendrons G0 (1), G1 (2) and G2 (3) used in the assembly and disassembly studies. b, Schematic of the photolytic cleavage reaction. c, Course of the assembly and disassembly process. Negatively charged virus particles initially exist as individual entities in solution. On addition of a cationic dendron (for example, G2 (3)), the individual viral particles are ‘glued’ together by multiple electrostatic interactions, which results in a large hierarchical assembly. Optical irradiation destroys the multivalent binding interaction and leads to the release of the virus particles.
