Colloidal liquid crystals:
The use of virus as a model of colloidal liquid crystals is based on the anisotropic shape of those, the proper size to be influenced by thermal fluctuations and observable under the microscope, and the monodisperse that nature supplies.
We use different type of rod-like viruses in the lab., like fd, M13, TMV and different genetic modifications of them.
Fd virus:
Fd is a virus that infects certain strains of Escherichia Coli bacteria. It is not dangerous to people. The virus is about 880 nm in length and 6.6 nm in diameter. The protein shell has a hollow core in the center into which the DNA is stuffed. The virus is semiflexible, the persistence length is 2.2 microns. There are specialized proteins at the ends of the virus used for infection.
The Bacteriophages, edited by Calender, R.New York:Plenum, 1988,p. 375-456.
EM with contrast provided by obilique evaporation of platinum (Fraden).
Each virus is 0.9 microns in length.
The width of the image is approximately 100 microns.