Chemical control of yeast cell division by cross-linked shells of catechol-grafted polyelectrolyte multilayers

The chemical control of cell division has attracted much attention in the areas of single cell-based biology and high-throughput screening platforms. A mussel-inspired cytocompatible encapsulation method for achieving a "cell-division control" with cross-linked layer-by-layer (LbL) shells is developed. Catechol-grafted polyethyleneimine and hyaluronic acid are chosen as polyelectrolytes for the LbL process, and the cross-linking of polyelectrolytes is performed at pH 8.5. Cell division is controlled by the number of the LbL nanolayers and cross-linking reaction. We also suggest a new measuring unit, t-2.0 OD 600, for quantifying "cell-division timing" based on microbial growth kinetics.