Self-assembly of stabilized droplets from liquid-liquid phase separation for higher-order structures and functions

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials science
• Synthetic biology
• Chemical engineering

Background:

• Dynamic microscale droplets, generated via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), offer unique material properties.
• The inherent instability of these droplets hinders the development of population-level structures with collective behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current strategies for stabilizing LLPS droplets.
• To discuss the potential of stabilized droplets in advanced applications.
• To provide insights into self-assembly of stabilized droplets into functional higher-order structures.

Main Methods:

• Review of physical separation techniques for droplet stabilization.
• Analysis of chemical modulation approaches for enhancing droplet stability.
• Exploration of recent advancements in LLPS droplet applications.

Main Results:

• Physical and chemical methods can effectively stabilize LLPS droplets.
• Stabilized droplets show promise in synthetic cells and biomedical materials.
• Self-assembly of stabilized droplets enables coordinated functions.

Conclusions:

• Stabilization of LLPS droplets is crucial for unlocking their full potential.
• Future applications lie in bottom-up synthetic biology and advanced biomedical materials.
• Self-assembled higher-order structures from stabilized droplets can achieve complex functions.