Forum 11/14/2002

“Trafficking of CPMV in vivo: a novel bioavailable nanoparticle”

Marianne Manchester, Assistant Professor – Department of Cell Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA

The search for novel biomaterials that could be used in vivo for drug and vaccine delivery or tumor targeting has led us to study virus particles.  Our work on the plant virus Cowpea Mosaic Virus (CPMV) has demonstrated that we can engineer these particles to perform antimicrobial or vaccine functions in vivo.  Further, we have recently shown that CPMV  particles traffic systemically following oral administration, suggesting that the natural bioavailability of these particles will make them a very attractive nanoparticle platform for a wide variety of biomedical applications.