A critical step in the life cycle of a virus is spread to a new target cell, which generally
involves the release of new viral particles from the infected cell which can then initiate
infection in the next target cell. While cell-free viral particles released into the extracellular
environment are necessary for long distance spread, there are disadvantages to this
mechanism. These include the presence of immune system components, the low success
rate of infection by single particles, and the relative fragility of viral particles in the …