Interconversion-controlled liquid-liquid phase separation in a molecular chiral model

Area of Science:

• Physical Chemistry
• Soft Matter Physics
• Biophysics

Background:

• Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is crucial for protein function and intracellular organization.
• Understanding LLPS in interconverting fluids (fluids with states that can change) is key to fluid polyamorphism.
• Molecular-level details of forces driving or limiting LLPS in these systems are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the physics of phase separation in fluids with interconverting states.
• To elucidate how competing forces influence phase separation stability and tunability.
• To provide molecular-level insights into fluid polyamorphism.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an off-lattice model of enantiomers.
• Tunable chiral interconversion and interaction properties were incorporated.
• Simulations explored equilibrium and nonequilibrium conditions.

Main Results:

• An imbalance in intermolecular forces between enantiomers leads to nonequilibrium, arrested phase separation into microdomains.
• In equilibrium, conservative forces restrict phase domain growth solely by system size.
• Observed phase amplification, where one phase grows at the expense of another.

Conclusions:

• The interplay between dynamics and thermodynamics dictates equilibrium and steady-state morphologies in phase transitions.
• Findings offer novel insights into controlling phase separation in interconverting fluids.
• This work advances understanding of fluid polyamorphism and its biological relevance.