Virus-Based Pyroelectricity.

We present the first observation of heat-induced electrical potential generation on a virus and its detection through pyroelectricity. Specifically, we investigate the pyroelectric properties of the M13 phage, which possesses inherent dipole structures derived from the noncentrosymmetric arrangement of the major coat protein (pVIII) with an α-helical conformation. We achieve unidirectional polarization of the phage through genetic engineering of the tail protein (pIII) and template-assisted self-assembly techniques. By modifying the pVIII proteins with varying numbers of glutamate residues, we explore the structure-dependent tunable pyroelectric properties of the phage. The most polarized phage exhibits a pyroelectric coefficient of 0.13 μC m -2 °C -1 . Computational modeling and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy analysis confirm that the unfolding of α-helices within the pVIII proteins leads to changes in phage polarization upon heating. Moreover, we genetically modify the phage to enable its pyroelectric function in diverse chemical environments. This phage-based approach not only provides valuable insights into bio-pyroelectricity but also opens up new opportunities for the detection of various viral particles. Furthermore, it holds great potential for the development of novel biomaterials for future applications in biosensors and bioelectric materials. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.