Internal/Total Volume of Human Papilloma Virus Capsid

by Nicholas Concilio

Submitted : Fall 2012

The human papilloma virus (HPV) is very ubiquitous in human populations. Besides unsightly lesions (warts) several types are associated with cancers. The virus is typed by a protein in the viral shell (capsid), the L1 protein. Because the capsid is made up of repeating protein units (capsomeres), the HPV capsid has icosahedral geometry. This geometry allows for geometric modeling of the viral capsid. A model based on a truncated pentagonal hexecontahedron can be used to accurately calculate the viral volume.

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