Electrostatic interactions and structural transformations in viral shells.

Structural transformations occurring in proteinaceous viral shells (capsids) can be induced by changing the pH of bathing solution, thus modifying the dissociation equilibrium of ionizable amino acids in proteins. To analyze the effects of electrostatic interactions on viral capsids, we construct a model of 2D isotropic elastic shells with embedded point charges located in the centers of mass of individual proteins. We find that modification of the electrostatic interactions between proteins affects not only the size and shape of capsids, but in addition induces substantial deformations of hexamers in capsid structures. Using bacteriophage