Liquid-liquid phase separation describes the de-mixing of a fluid into ‘compartments’ with different compositions, such as the separation of oil and water. These results may elucidate self-assembly processes that underlie normal cellular functions or pathogenesis, and suggest strategies for designing efficient bottom-up assembly for nanomaterials applications.
We analyze the rate equation predictions using simple scaling estimates to identify effects of liquid-liquid phase separation as a function of relevant control parameters. In particular, both the range of solution conditions leading to productive assembly and the corresponding assembly rates can increase by orders of magnitude. We find that, when assembling subunits preferentially partition into liquid compartments, robustness against kinetic traps and maximum achievable assembly rates can be significantly increased. In this article, we use kinetic theory and solution thermodynamics to investigate the effect of liquid-liquid phase separation on the reversible self-assembly of structures with well-defined sizes and architectures. While it is known that such droplets, or compartments, can regulate irreversible protein aggregation, their effect on reversible self-assembly remains largely unexplored.
Liquid condensate droplets with distinct compositions of proteins and nucleic acids are widespread in biological cells.
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