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Capillary-based Centrifugal Microfluidic Device for Size-controllable Formation of Monodisperse Microdroplets
Published on: February 22, 2016
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Water Dynamics in the Formation of Single-Component-Based Multiphasic Droplets
Laicheng Zhou1, Liheng Lu1, Yang Zhang1
1Department of Chemistry, Westlake University, No. 600 Yungu Road, Hangzhou 310030, Zhejiang, China.
Journal of the American Chemical Society
|August 13, 2025
Summary
Water plays a crucial role in biomolecular condensates beyond just being a solvent. This study shows how water
Area of Science:
- Biomolecular condensates
- Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS)
- Hydration dynamics
Background:
- Water's role in biomolecular condensates is often limited to solvent effects.
- The specific influence of water's hydrogen bonding on condensate substructure and properties remains underexplored.
- Understanding these interactions is key to controlling condensate behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the synergistic effects of water on the substructure and properties of peptide-based biomolecular condensates.
- To elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which water modulates liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS).
- To demonstrate dynamic regulation of condensate phase transitions via hydration modulation.
Main Methods:
- Design and synthesis of peptide-based droplets with varied microstructures.
- In situ Raman and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to analyze hydrogen bonding networks.
- Application of Chaotropic and Kosmotropic agents to modulate peptide-water interactions.
Main Results:
- Increased peptide-water hydrogen bonding and decreased peptide-peptide hydrogen bonding drive the transition from multiphasic to homogeneous condensate configurations.
- The transformation of condensate microstructure is directly linked to the strength of the hydration network.
- Chaotropic and Kosmotropic agents effectively regulate these phase transitions by altering peptide-water interactions.
Conclusions:
- Hydration water plays an essential, active role in the LLPS of single-component systems.
- Water's hydrogen bonding network is a critical determinant of condensate substructure and phase behavior.
- Findings provide a foundation for designing advanced hydrated materials and controlling biomolecular condensate formation.
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