diff --git a/tests/nextflow.config b/tests/nextflow.config
index 0b76cddf..f8c0338a 100644
--- a/tests/nextflow.config
+++ b/tests/nextflow.config
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 env {
-    NCBI_EMAIL = ${"$\u007B NCBI_EMAIL \u007D" }
-    NCBI_KEY   = ${"$\u007B NCBI_KEY \u007D" }
+    NCBI_EMAIL = ${'$"\u007B" NCBI_EMAIL "\u007D"' }
+    NCBI_KEY   = ${'$"\u007B" NCBI_KEY "\u007D"' }
     }