By far, we have successfully developed self-assembled multivalent structures in three different work packages (WP1-3). In the first WP, we focused on the synthesis and fabrication of benzotriamide (BTA) co-assemblies with functional surfactant motifs which self-assemble into 1D structures. Furthermore, a cellulose based self-assembled 1D nanofiber was developed. In the second WP, we synthesized multivalent 2D polymers based on dendritic amphiphiles which assemble into sheet like aggregates. In WP3, we synthesized 3D self-assemblies in the form of micelles, polymersomes and nanogels. All the synthesized structures have been functionalized with receptor groups like sialic acid or charged sulfate/carboxylic acid groups to increase their interactions with virus particles. The synthesized structures are fully characterized by spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. Additionally in this project, we studied the effect of different substitutions of the self-assembly behavior of final systems and their physicochemical properties.
The evaluations of the SupraVir structures were performed in WP4-5. The structures have been investigated with various biophysical and biological methods. Microscale thermophoresis (MST) was used to investigate the virus binding quantitatively, and cryo-EM was used to visualize virus interactions as WP4. In WP5, for the virus inhibition, they were evaluated by plaque reduction assays, virus infection assays, virucidal assays against multiple viruses, including herpes simplex virus (HSV), influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and SARS-CoV-2 etc. 3D in vitro models, such “lung-on-a-chip” models, are being developed for further evaluations.
