Artificial viral capsid proteins: mimicking nature to deliver medicines

Viruses are very efficient in the delivery of their viral DNA or RNA into cells. Using them as DNA/RNA delivery tools in the lab or in medicine (e.g. gene therapy), however, brings safety issues. Therefore, we designed our own artificial virus. The artificial virus is composed of a simple protein, designed by us, that can bind and fully coat strands of DNA and RNA. Within such an artificial virus particle, the DNA is protected against degradation, potentially allowing it to be delivered into cells. In this thesis, we studied the physical behaviour of these self-designed proteins and used that information to improve their design for delivery into cells. In addition, we made a first effort to design the protein in such a way that it can coat specific DNA strands.