Interrod forces in aqueous gels of tobacco mosaic virus.

The lateral separation of virus rod particles of tobacco mosaic virus has been studied as a function of externally applied osmotic pressure using an osmotic stress technique. The results have been used to test the assumption that lattice equilibrium in such gels results from a balance between repulsive (electrostatic) and attractive (van der Waals and osmotic) forces. Results have been obtained at different ionic strengths (0.001 to 1.0 M) and pH's (5.0 to 7.2) and compared with calculated curves for electrostatic nad van der Waals pressure. Under all conditions studied, interrod spacing decreased with increasing applied pressure, the spacings being smaller at higher ionic strengths. Only small differences were seen when the pH was changed. At ionic strengths near 0.1 M, agreement between theory and experiment is good, but the theory appears to underestimate electrostatic forces at high ionic strengths and to underestimate attractive forces at large interrod spacings (low ionic strengths). It is concluded that an electrostatic-van der Waals force balance can explain stability in tobacco mosaic virus gels near physiological conditions and can provide a good first approximation elsewhere.