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Polybrene which is a cationic polymer can greatly enhance the efficiency of retroviral or lentiviral infection to mammalian cells. It acts to neutralize the charge repulsion between virions and the cell surface, thereby increasing infection efficiency. It increases efficiency by enhancing receptor-independent virus adsorption on target cell membranes.

There are other positively charged polycations like DEAE-dextran, protamine sulfate, poly-L-lysine, or cationic liposomes that could be used as these reduce the repulsion forces between the cell and the virus and mediates the binding of viral particle to the cell surface resulting in higher efficiency.

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• Nucleic acids: These are the building blocks of DNA and RNA viruses, such as herpes simplex virus (HSV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Nucleic acids can act as scaffolding proteins or additives for virus-like particles (VLPs), which are virus-derived structures that mimic the form and size of a virus particle but lack the genetic material1. Nucleic acids can also form complexes with viral proteins or nucleic acids to facilitate their entry into host cells.
• Glycans: These are the sugar chains attached to proteins or lipids on the surface of viruses or host cells. Glycans can affect the release of virions from infected cells by modulating their binding affinity to receptors or enzymes. Glycans can also influence the recognition and clearance of viruses by immune cells by altering their antigenicity or immunogenicity.
• Peptides: These are short chains of amino acids that can fold into specific shapes and interact with various molecules. Peptides can be designed to mimic or enhance certain features of viruses, such as their envelope glycoproteins, their capsid proteins, or their transmembrane proteins. Peptides can also be used to form fibrils with high stability and mechanical strength.
• Extracellular vesicles: These are small membrane-bound particles that are released by cells into their surroundings. Extracellular vesicles can carry various molecules from one cell type to another, such as nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, or metabolites2. Extracellular vesicles can act as carriers or mediators for viral infection by transferring viral components from infected cells to uninfected cells.