Patent ID: 7329485

Claim:
A method of identifying a compound that inhibits assembly of a viral capsid, the method comprising the steps of: providing capsid polypeptides labeled with a fluorescent dye that changes fluorescence at high concentration, wherein assembly of the capsid polypeptides into the viral capsid results in juxtaposition of at least one of the N-terminus and C-terminus of the capsid polypeptides, and wherein the fluorescent dye is attached to the at least one N-terminus and C-terminus of the capsid polypeptide; providing at least one test compound; performing an in vitro assembly reaction utilizing the labeled capsid polypeptides in the presence of the at least one test compound; detecting an amount of fluorescence at at least one time point following induction of assembly in the presence of the at least one test compound, wherein the induction of assembly is detected as a decrease in the fluorescence of the sample; determining whether the fluorescence detected in the presence of the at least one test compound following induction of assembly is increased when compared to the fluorescence detected in the absence of the at least one test compound following induction of assembly, wherein such increase is an indication that the at least one test compound inhibits assembly of the viral capsid.