Versatility of M13 bacteriophage in medicine : vaccine storage and cancer diagnostics

Two novel ways of engineering the filamentous bacteriophage, M13, for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of human disease are proposed. Both ways are founded on the unique structural properties of the M13 bacteriophage and the ability of its major and minor coat proteins, p3 and p8, to be manipulated to serve as virus-based multifunctional platforms. The first project addresses the problem of vaccine storage and the cold chain (requirement to store vaccines at 2-80C or lower). The need for refrigeration leads to high cost, difficult field delivery, and high potential for vaccine instability. By capitalizing on the liquid crystalline nature and unique diffraction patterns of phage films, we aim to encapsulate vaccines in a 3-D liquid crystalline matrix that would not only allow for stability at elevated temperatures but would also allow for easy detection of viability by using a laser light and noting the diffraction pattern. We chose luciferase as a model for a protein-based vaccine, and found several phage-borne peptide sequences with increased affinity to luciferase compared to controls. Two of these sequences, CKLHGTSRC and CTHKNQAC were chosen to form luciferase-encapsulated phage films. The second project addresses the need of more sensitive imaging techniques for early detection of cancer.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Shi, Amy (Amy J.)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Angela M. Belcher.

• Materials Science and Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/38583

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/38583