Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2025
08:02
Author Spotlight: Developing Synthetic Cells from Programmable Amphiphilic DNA Nanostructures
Published on: May 31, 2024
737
Emergence of Multiphase Condensates from a Limited Set of Chemical Building Blocks
1Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States.
Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation
|July 30, 2024
Summary
Scientists designed complex biomolecular condensates using simple building blocks. This research connects interaction specificity to condensate stability, enabling the engineering of novel cellular compartments.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Chemical Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Biomolecular condensates are distinct cellular compartments formed by molecules with limited building blocks.
- While many condensates form via phase separation, the assembly of immiscible condensates with precise compositions from simple components remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between biomolecular interaction specificity and the thermodynamic stability of coexisting condensates.
- To develop a method for designing heteropolymer mixtures that yield compositionally complex condensates from limited monomer types.
Main Methods:
- Computational analysis of minimum interaction specificity required for target condensate compositions.
- Thermodynamic modeling of coexisting condensate phases.
Main Results:
- A direct link was established between interaction specificity and the thermodynamic stability of multicomponent biomolecular condensates.
- A computational approach was demonstrated to design heteropolymer mixtures capable of forming complex condensates using a small set of monomers.
- The study quantifies the minimum specificity needed to achieve desired condensate compositions.
Conclusions:
- Compositional specificity in naturally occurring multicomponent condensates can arise from specific biomolecular interactions.
- A rational design algorithm is presented for engineering artificial biomolecular condensates with complex compositions from simple chemical building blocks.
Related Concept Videos
02:39Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation
17.5K
The physical form of a substance changes on changing its temperature. For example, raising the temperature of a liquid causes the liquid to vaporize (convert into vapor). The process is called vaporization—a surface phenomenon. Vaporization occurs when the thermal motion of the molecules overcome the intermolecular forces, and the molecules (at the surface) escape into the gaseous state. When a liquid vaporizes in a closed container, gas molecules cannot escape. As these gas phase...
17.5K
01:03Step-Growth Polymerization: Overview
3.4K
Step-growth or condensation polymerization is a stepwise reaction of bi or multifunctional monomers to form long-chain polymers. As all the monomers are reactive, most of the monomers are consumed at the early stages of the reaction to form small chains of reactive oligomers, which then combine to form long polymer chains in the late stages. Hence, the reaction has to proceed for a long time to achieve high molecular weight polymers.
Many natural and synthetic polymers are produced by...
Many natural and synthetic polymers are produced by...
3.4K
01:01Distillation: Vapor–Liquid Equilibria
2.7K
Distillation is a separation technique that takes advantage of the boiling point properties of disparate elements in a mixture. To perform distillation, we begin by heating a miscible mixture of two liquids with a significant difference in boiling points (at least 20°C). As the solution heats up and reaches the bubble point of the more volatile component, some molecules of the more volatile component transition into the gas phase and travel upward into the condenser, which is a glass tube...
2.7K
01:19Phase Diagram
5.8K
The phase of a given substance depends on the pressure and temperature. Thus, plots of pressure versus temperature showing the phase in each region provide considerable insights into the thermal properties of substances. Such plots are known as phase diagrams. For instance, in the phase diagram for water (Figure 1), the solid curve boundaries between the phases indicate phase transitions (i.e., temperatures and pressures at which the phases coexist).
5.8K
02:34Polymers
35.6K
The word polymer is derived from the Greek words “poly” which means “many” and “mer” which means “parts”. Polymers are long chains of molecules composed of repeating units of smaller molecules, known as monomers. They either occur naturally, such as DNA and proteins, or can be constructed synthetically, like plastics. They have varied structural characteristics, such as linear chains, branched chains, or complex networks, that contribute to the...
35.6K
02:33Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
17.0K
Some solids can transition directly into the gaseous state, bypassing the liquid state, via a process known as sublimation. At room temperature and standard pressure, a piece of dry ice (solid CO2) sublimes, appearing to gradually disappear without ever forming any liquid. Snow and ice sublimate at temperatures below the melting point of water, a slow process that may be accelerated by winds and the reduced atmospheric pressures at high altitudes. When solid iodine is warmed, the solid sublimes...
17.0K