Journal
SMALL
Volume 18, Issue 46, Pages -Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/smll.202202606
Keywords
complete phase diagrams; finite volumes; kinetics; liquid-liquid phase separation; microfluidics; polymers and proteins; thermodynamics
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Funding
- Swiss National Science Foundation [205321_17905]
- Synapsis Foundation for Alzheimer's disease (Zurich)
- European Research Council through the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme [101002094]
- Leverhulme Trust [RPG-2019-235]
- Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule Zurich
- European Research Council (ERC) [101002094] Funding Source: European Research Council (ERC)
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This study provides an experimental and theoretical framework to investigate the thermodynamics and kinetics of liquid-liquid phase separation. It leverages droplet microfluidics to accurately measure the volume of the dense phase and predicts and validates kinetic barriers associated with the formation of a dense droplet.
Liquid-liquid phase separation of polymer and protein solutions is central in many areas of biology and material sciences. Here, an experimental and theoretical framework is provided to investigate the thermodynamics and kinetics of liquid-liquid phase separation in volumes comparable to cells. The strategy leverages droplet microfluidics to accurately measure the volume of the dense phase generated by liquid-liquid phase separation of solutions confined in micro-sized compartments. It is shown that the measurement of the volume fraction of the dense phase at different temperatures allows the evaluation of the binodal lines that determine the coexistence region of the two phases in the temperature-concentration phase diagram. By applying a thermodynamic model of phase separation in finite volumes, it is further shown that the platform can predict and validate kinetic barriers associated with the formation of a dense droplet in a parent dilute phase, therefore connecting thermodynamics and kinetics of liquid-liquid phase separation.
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