Individual mammalian cells are coated cytocompatibly with a degradable complex of tannic acid and Fe ^III with the aim of chemically mimicking the sporulation and germination.

Cytoprotective silica encapsulation of individual yeast cells is achieved by a peptide-catalyzed silicification under mild conditions, inspired by glass sponges.

Formation of both mechanically durable and programmably degradable layer-by-layer (LbL) films in a biocompatible fashion has potential applications in cell therapy, tissue engineering, and drug-delivery systems, where the films are interfaced with living cells. In this work, we developed a simple but versatile method for generating in situ cross-linked and responsively degradable LbL films, based on the thiol–exchange reaction, under highly cytocompatible conditions (aqueous solution at pH 7.4 and room temperature). The cytocompatibility of the processes was confirmed by coating individual yeast cells with the cross-linked LbL films and breaking the films on demand, while maintaining the cell viability. In addition, the processes were applied to the controlled release of an anticancer drug in the HeLa cells.