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Viral infection usually begins with adhesion between the viral particle and viral receptors displayed on the cell membrane. The exterior surface of the cell membrane is typically coated with a brush-like layer of molecules, the glycocalyx, that the viruses need to penetrate. Although there is extensive literature on the biomechanics of virus−cell adhesion, much of it is based on continuum-level models that do not address the question of how virus/cell-membrane adhesion occurs through the glycocalyx. In this work, we present a simulation study of the penetration mechanism. Using a coarse-grained molecular model, we study the force-driven and di"usive penetration of a brush-like glycocalyx by viral particles. For force-driven penetration, we find that viral particles smaller than the spacing of molecules in the brush reach the membrane surface readily. For a given maximum force, viral particles larger than the minimum spacing of brush molecules arrest at some distance from the membrane, governed by the balance of elastic and applied forces. For the di"usive case, we find that weak but multivalent attraction between the glycocalyx molecules and the virus e"ectively leads to its engulfment by the glycocalyx. Our finding provides potential guidance for developing glycocalyx-targeting drugs and therapies by understanding how virus−cell adhesion works. 

Living systems require a sustained supply of energy and nutrients to survive. These nutrients are ingested, transformed into low-energy waste products, and excreted. In contrast, synthetic DNA strand-displacement reactions typically run within closed systems provided with a finite initial supply of reactants. Once the reactants are consumed, all net reactions halt and the system ceases to function. Here we run DNA strand-displacement reactions in a continuous flow reactor, infusing fresh reactants and withdrawing waste, enabling the system to dynamically update its outputs in response to changing inputs. Running DNA strand-displacement reactions inside of continuous flow reactors allows the system to be re-used for multiple rounds of computation, which could enable the execution of more elaborate information processing tasks, including single-rail negation and sequential logic circuits