Self-repairing biohybrid nanoshells provide living cells with high activity and extended viability in harsh micro-environments.

Amino acid-based biohybrids have been developed to self-assemble on the surface of desulfurizing bacteria to form nanothin and nanoporous shells. The shells not only endow the encapsulated cells with reusability, but also offer platforms to incorporate titania and magnetic nanoparticles to improve the desulfurizing activity and the separation efficiency.