The physics of tobacco mosaic virus and virus-based devices in biotechnology.

Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is the best-characterized virus. Compared to most other viruses, its structure and physical and chemical properties are well known. TMV exclusively infects plants and is completely harmless for mammals. This virus is resilient against environmental changes, and it can easily be modified with functional materials. Our review gives a summary about the known physical properties of TMV (structure, thermodynamics, and electromagnetism). We believe that the current progress in nanobiotechnology makes the fabrication of functional TMV-based biotechnology devices simpler than ever.