Stabilizing properties of copolymers adsorbed on heterogeneous surfaces: A model for the interactions between a polymer-coated influenza virus and a cell

We use scaling theory and two-dimensional self-consistent field calculations to investigate the adsorption of copolymers onto heterogeneous surfaces, which represent the surface of the influenza virus. The copolymers contain "stickers" that are highly attracted to receptors on the viral surface. We vary the sticker concentration and determine the conformation of the adsorbed chains on the heterogeneous substrate. We then calculate the interaction energy as a function of distance between this polymer-coated surface and a bare interface, which represents the surface of a red blood cell. The results show that there is an optimal range of the sticker concentrations that sterically inhibit contact between the two surfaces. The findings help rationalize recent experiments, which show that the extent of inhibition depends on the fraction of stickers in adsorbing copolymer.