Non-Stoichiometric Click Polymerization for Size-Controlled and Mild Encapsulation of Cells

Artificial cell shells can achieve protection, identification, measurement, and manipulation of cells, but most cell encapsulation methods fail to control shell thickness, directly limiting the shell function in practical applications. The in-situ polymerization method has the potential to control the encapsulation shell but lacks chemical driving forces to enable shell thickness from nanoscale to micrometer-scale. The micrometer-scale shell can enhance the functionality in cell encapsulation and extend its applications to broader fields. In this work, we utilized the efficient and mild thiol-alkene click reaction to construct a micrometer-scale shell and encapsulate microbial cells into large-sized polymer microspheres. The encapsulated microbial cells are larger than the coexisting emulsion colloids and particulate impurities, thereby achieving "Convert microbial cell detection to polymer particle counting" and providing a new perspective for the application of micrometer-scale artificial cell shells.