Coronavirus structure

The coronavirus particles are organized with long RNA polymers tightly packed into the center of the particle, and surrounded by a protective capsid, which is a lattice of repeated protein molecules referred to as coat or capsid proteins. In coronavirus, these proteins are called nucleocapsid (N). The coronavirus core particle is further surrounded by an outer membrane envelope made of lipids (fats) with proteins inserted. These membranes derive from the cells in which the virus was last assembled but are modified to contain specific viral proteins, including the spike (S), membrane (M), and envelope (E) proteins.