In previous work, we identified two trimeric peptide ligands (designated WRW and KYY), which bound specifically to porcine parvovirus (PPV) and demonstrated their ability to capture and remove the virus from solutions containing 7.5% human blood plasma. This article examines the influences of peptide density and the presence of all ethylene oxide spacer arm on the efficiency of virus capture using these two ligands. The WRW peptide bound the most virus from plasma solutions at the lowest peptide density tested (0.008 mmol/g dry resin), and binding was enhanced by the presence of the spacer arm. On the other hand, the KYY peptide bound the most viruses at the same low peptide density, but it performed better in the absence of the spacer arm. Of the two, the binding efficiency of the WRW peptide was more sensitive to peptide density and spacer arm presence. These results indicate that low peptide densities enhance binding selectivity, facilitating specific peptide-virus binding even in the presence of plasma proteins which can theoretically bind nonspecifically. (c) 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 25: 1411-1418, 2009