Biocompatible Formation of Silica/Titania Nanocomposite Shells on Living Chlorella Cells

The artificial shells of hard inorganic nanocomposites on individual cells would protect the cells physically and chemically, and control cell division. These emerging properties could be combined with cell-surface functionalizations for applications to cell-based sensors and assays as well as for fundamental studies on single-cell biology. In this work, individual Chlorella cells were encapsulated within a silica/titania nanocomposite shell in a biocompatible fashion that utilized a designed peptide, RKKRKKRKKRKKDDDDDDDD, as a catalytic template for formation of both $SiO_2$ and $TiO_2$ on the cell surface. The cell viability was maintained, and the division of the encapsulated Chlorella cells was controlled. The cell viability was enhanced compared with the $TiO_2$-shell formation. In addition, the incorporation of $TiO_2$ to the shell made it possible to anchor the ligands of interest to the shell via catechol chemistry. All in all, the combination of biological $SiO_2$ and abiolgical $TiO_2$ for the shell formation gave more tunability of the artificial shells compared with the $SiO_2$ or $TiO_2$ shells only.