Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Overview Of Cell Separation And Isolation

Overview Of Cell Separation And Isolation

Cell separation was first achieved in 1964 by S. H. Seal, who separated large tumor cells from the smaller blood cells using filtration. Two years later, Pohl and Hawk performed experiments on how cells respond differently to a nonuniform electric field based on the cell type. Such observations were the inception of cell separation methods, which allow isolating a single cell type from a heterogeneous sample.

Membrane Fluidity

Membrane Fluidity

Cell membranes are composed of phospholipids, proteins, and carbohydrates loosely attached to one another through chemical interactions. Molecules are generally able to move about in the plane of the membrane, giving the membrane its flexible nature called fluidity. Two other features of the membrane contribute to membrane fluidity: the chemical structure of the phospholipids and the presence of cholesterol in the membrane.

Membrane Fluidity

Membrane Fluidity

Membrane fluidity is explained by the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane, which describes the plasma membrane structure as a mosaic of components—including phospholipids, cholesterol, proteins, and carbohydrates—that gives the membrane a fluid character.
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is...

Two Components: Liquid–Liquid Systems

Two Components: Liquid–Liquid Systems

A pressure-composition phase diagram explicitly describes the behavior of an ideal solution of two volatile liquids under varying pressures and compositions. A pressure-composition diagram has two main curves. The bubble point curve represents the plot of pressure versus liquid mole fraction. It indicates the pressure at which the first bubble of vapor forms from the liquid phase as the system pressure decreases.The dew point curve is the pressure versus vapor mole fraction. It indicates the...

Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer

Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer

Biological membranes show uneven distribution of different types of lipids in the inner and outer layers, resulting in transverse asymmetric membranes. The treatment of the erythrocyte membrane with the enzyme phospholipase confirmed the asymmetric nature of the lipid bilayer. The enzyme hydrolyzes lipids into fatty acids and hydrophilic groups. The phospholipase acts only on the outer layer of the membrane, while the inner layer remains intact. The phospholipase treatment resulted in 80%...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Fluid Flow and Spatiotemporal Chaos in Chemically Active Emulsions.

Physical review letters·2026

Same author

Excitability and Oscillations of Active Droplets.

Physical review letters·2026

Same author

Advancing mechanobiology from single molecules to complex cellular systems.

Nature nanotechnology·2026

Same author

Kinetic theory of emulsions with matter supply.

Physical review. E·2026

Same author

Stress Granule Sequestration of CCR4-NOT Promotes Poly(A) Lengthening of Stress-Survival Transcripts.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

A conserved motif tunes Sidekick condensate dynamics to control tricellular junction recruitment during epithelial remodeling.

Cell reports·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 23, 2026

On-Chip Octanol-Assisted Liposome Assembly for Bioengineering

On-Chip Octanol-Assisted Liposome Assembly for Bioengineering

Published on: March 17, 2023

Liquid-liquid phase separation in biology.

Anthony A Hyman¹, Christoph A Weber, Frank Jülicher

¹Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics Dresden, and.

Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology

|October 8, 2014

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Cells form liquid-like compartments through phase separation for biochemical reactions. Understanding these liquid states is key to their biological functions.

Keywords:

P granules biological liquids chemical potential origin of life phase separation

More Related Videos

Cell Co-culture Patterning Using Aqueous Two-phase Systems

Cell Co-culture Patterning Using Aqueous Two-phase Systems

Published on: March 26, 2013

Phase Diagram Characterization Using Magnetic Beads as Liquid Carriers

Phase Diagram Characterization Using Magnetic Beads as Liquid Carriers

Published on: September 4, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 23, 2026

On-Chip Octanol-Assisted Liposome Assembly for Bioengineering

On-Chip Octanol-Assisted Liposome Assembly for Bioengineering

Published on: March 17, 2023

Cell Co-culture Patterning Using Aqueous Two-phase Systems

Cell Co-culture Patterning Using Aqueous Two-phase Systems

Published on: March 26, 2013

Phase Diagram Characterization Using Magnetic Beads as Liquid Carriers

Phase Diagram Characterization Using Magnetic Beads as Liquid Carriers

Published on: September 4, 2015

Area of Science:

Cell biology
Biophysics

Background:

Cells utilize non-membrane-bound compartments for organizing biochemical reactions.
Emerging evidence indicates these compartments are often liquid in nature.
Liquid compartments form via phase separation from the cytoplasm.

Purpose of the Study:

To explain the fundamental physical concepts behind liquid-like cellular compartments.
To elucidate the biological implications of these liquid states.

Main Methods:

Review of physical principles governing phase separation.
Discussion of liquid-state properties in a cellular context.

Main Results:

Phase separation drives the formation of intracellular liquid compartments.
Liquid-like properties influence the biological functions of these compartments.

Conclusions:

Understanding the physics of liquid phase separation is crucial for cell biology.
Liquid compartments represent a key mechanism for cellular organization and function.