Coarse-grained mechanical models for viral capsids

In this review we present a selection of mathematical models for icosahedral viral capsids. These models are based on coarse-graining approximations, in which the fundamental structural units are either single proteins or groups of them. We discuss some techniques to identify such structural units, and a number of applications in which this approach yields useful insights into the mechanism underlying the configurational changes of the capsid occurring during maturation or infection. We also show how to use coarse-grained models to compute the distribution of residual stress in the capsid, and discuss how residual stress may influence the capsid structure.