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Phase Diagram Characterization Using Magnetic Beads as Liquid Carriers
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Controlling composition of coexisting phases via molecular transitions
Giacomo Bartolucci1, Omar Adame-Arana2, Xueping Zhao1
1Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany; Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Biophysical Journal
|October 3, 2021
Summary
Molecular transitions in phase-separating systems can alter cellular condensates. This study reveals how equilibrium and active processes, driven by fuel, uniquely influence these transitions and droplet compositions.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Soft Matter Physics
- Chemical Thermodynamics
Background:
- Phase separation and molecular transitions are fundamental cellular processes.
- These transitions can be governed by thermodynamics or active biological fuel-driven processes.
- The interplay between phase separation and molecular transitions under non-equilibrium conditions is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To model a phase-separating ternary mixture with interconverting components.
- To investigate the differences in system behavior between thermodynamic equilibrium and fuel-driven non-equilibrium conditions.
- To explore how molecular transitions affect phase behavior and droplet composition.
Main Methods:
- Development of a theoretical model for a ternary mixture with two interconverting components.
- Analysis of phase behavior under thermodynamic equilibrium conditions.
- Investigation of non-equilibrium effects by breaking detailed balance of molecular transition rates.
Main Results:
- At equilibrium, molecular transitions can lower dissolution temperature, leading to reentrant phase behavior.
- A discontinuous phase transition in droplet composition occurs if converting molecules have similar self-attraction strengths.
- Breaking detailed balance results in quasi-discontinuous changes in droplet composition with varying fuel amounts.
Conclusions:
- Phase separation coupled with molecular transitions offers a tunable mechanism for controlling condensate properties.
- Discontinuous switches in droplet composition can be achieved through these transitions.
- Findings are relevant for understanding intracellular condensates and designing synthetic ones.
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