Development of Organogels for Live Yarrowia lipolytica Encapsulation

Encapsulation of cells/microorganisms attracts great attention in many applications, but current studies mainly focus on hydrophilic encapsulation materials. Herein, we develop a new class of hydrophobic and lipophilic organogels for highly efficient encapsulation of Yarrowia lipolytica, an oleaginous yeast, by a mild and nonsolvent photopolymerization method. The organogels allow free diffusion of hydrophobic molecules that oleaginous yeasts require to survive and function. Moreover, they are mechanically robust and possess favorable biocompatibility, thus providing a free-standing platform and an ideal survival environ-ment for oleaginous Y. lipolytica encapsulation. By tuning monomer structures and cross-linking densities, the optimized organogel, Gel(12-1.5%), achieves the highest viability of similar to 96%. Furthermore, organogels can inhibit the cryoinjuries to oleaginous yeasts in cryopreservation, exhibiting the potential for long-term storage. It is also found that with varying alkyl lengths, the organogels show different temperature-dependent phase transition properties, which enable the rapid selection of targeted yeasts for steganography. Findings in this work provide guidance for designing biocompatible, hydrophobic, and lipophilic encapsulation materials.

Automated summary

This study developed a new class of hydrophobic and lipophilic organogels for efficient encapsulation of oleaginous yeasts. The optimized organogel achieved a high viability of around 96% and showed potential for long-term storage by inhibiting cryoinjuries. The organogels also exhibited different temperature-dependent phase transition properties based on alkyl lengths, enabling rapid selection of targeted yeasts for steganography.