Ewha Womans University · Engineering
Professor Ji Hun Park's research lab specializes in the development of bioinspired, cytocompatible nanocoating technologies for single cells, drawing inspiration from natural protective mechanisms such as bacterial sporulation and cryptobiosis. The lab focuses on creating functional nanoshells—particularly using tannic acid and Fe(III) coordination complexes—that provide robust protection against environmental stressors like UV radiation, enzymes, and heavy metals, while enabling on-demand shell degradation for cell reactivation. Their work bridges materials science, synthetic biology, and biotechnology, aiming to advance applications in regenerative medicine, biopreservation, and single-cell analysis. A key innovation lies in the design of stimuli-responsive, supramolecular nanocoatings that are both biocompatible and highly adaptable to diverse biological systems.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Single-cell encapsulation promises the cytoprotection of the encased cells against lethal stressors, reminiscent of the sporulation process in nature. However, the development of a cytocompatible method for chemically mimicking the germination process (i.e., shell degradation on-demand) has been elusive, despite the shell degradation being pivotal for the practical use of functional cells as well as for single cell-based biology. We report that an artificial shell, composed of tannic acid (TA) a
Nature has developed a fascinating strategy of cryptobiosis ("secret life") for counteracting the stressful, and often lethal, environmental conditions that fluctuate sporadically over time. For example, certain bacteria sporulate to transform from a metabolically active, vegetative state to an ametabolic endospore state. The bacterial endospores, encased within tough biomolecular shells, withstand the extremes of harmful stressors, such as radiation, desiccation, and malnutrition, for extended
The chronological progresses in single-cell nanocoating are described. The historical developments in the field are divided into biotemplating, cytocompatible nanocoating, and cells in nano-nutshells, depending on the main research focuses. Each subfield is discussed in conjunction with the others, regarding how and why to manipulate living cells by nanocoating at the single-cell level.
Numerous coating strategies are available to control the surface properties and confer new properties to substrates for applications in energy, environment, biosystems, etc., but most have the intrinsic limitations in the practical setting: (1) highly specific interactions between coating materials and target surfaces are required for stable and durable coating; (2) the coating of bulk substrates, such as fruits, is time-consuming or is not achievable in the conventional solution-based coating.
Abstract Single‐cell encapsulation promises the cytoprotection of the encased cells against lethal stressors, reminiscent of the sporulation process in nature. However, the development of a cytocompatible method for chemically mimicking the germination process (i.e., shell degradation on‐demand) has been elusive, despite the shell degradation being pivotal for the practical use of functional cells as well as for single cell‐based biology. We report that an artificial shell, composed of tannic ac
Nanoshells F. Caruso, Y. Lee, I. S. Choi, and co-workers show in their Communication on page 12420 that a cytoprotective nanoshell can be formed on individual yeast cells from a coordination complex of tannic acid and FeIII ions.
Inspired by biosilicification of glass sponges, we designed a catalytic peptide, which formed silica structures in the imidazole-buffered solution. The peptide was adsorbed selectively onto the surface of yeast cells, and the bioinspired silicification led to the formation of a cytoprotective silica shell on individual yeast cells.
Photoacoustic imaging using exogenous contrast agents has emerged as a hybrid technique that enables the deep imaging of optical properties of tissues with high spatial resolution. The power of this imaging technique can be greatly enhanced by the use of contrast agents that absorb at near-infrared wavelengths and whose optical properties can be modulated in response to the local environment. We have designed contrast agents consisting of gold nanoparticles coated with anisotropic silica nanoshe
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