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Single-cell nanoencapsulation (SCNE) has great potential in the enhancement of therapeutic effects of probiotic microbes. However, the material scope has been limited to water-soluble compounds to avoid non-biocompatible organic solvents that are harmful to living cells. In this work, the SCNE of probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus with water-insoluble luteolin and Fe3+ ions is achieved by the vortex-assisted, biphasic water–oil system. The process creates L. acidophilus nanoencapsulated in the luteolin-Fe3+ shells that empower the cells with extrinsic properties, such as resistance to lysozyme attack, anti-ROS ability, and α-amylase-inhibition activity, as well as sustaining viability under acidic conditions. The proposed protocol, embracing water-insoluble flavonoids as shell components in SCNE, will be an advanced add-on to the chemical toolbox for the manipulation of living cells at the single-cell level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coordination-driven self-assembly of metal–ligand complexes is a powerful nanoarchitectonic tool for particle engineering, but its usability is limited when using two immiscible coating components. This paper reports that simple vortexing of a biphasic system of Fe3+ ions in water and flavonoids in oil forms nanoshells on individual particles, thereby enabling the utilization of water-insoluble ligands as coating materials. Mechanistic studies suggest that the biphasic mass-transfer equilibrium of flavonoid-Fe3+ species controls the shell formation, with the oil phase acting as a reservoir of coating precursors for continuous coating. The versatility and convenience of our method expand the chemical toolbox for modulating particle–material interfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid degradation of Fe3+-tannic acid films is achieved under mild conditions via ascorbic acid-mediated Fe3+ reduction, which overcomes the problems in the disassembly of a metal–organic complex including slow reaction rates and reaction incompatibility with living cells. The strategy of reductive disassembly is applied to degradable single-cell nanoencapsulation, providing an advanced tool for tightly controlling and manipulating the cell–material interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]