Phase-Separated Droplets Swim to Their Dissolution

Biomolecular condensates form spontaneously in living cells. While we know a lot about the molecular mechanisms that cells use to regulate phase separation, we know little about the origins and impacts of condensate’s physical properties.

Interfacial tension is an essential physical property that governs coarsening, adhesion, and wetting. In soft matter science, we usually mitigate the effects of interfacial tension with surfactants. However, there is little evidence for surfactant-based regulation of biomolecular condensates in living cells.

In this talk, I will describe how to leverage bulk thermodynamics for control of interfacial tension without surfactants. I will demonstrate how these effects can lead to dialytaxis, the tendency of droplets to swim to their dissolution. I will discuss potential implications of these findings for active matter and cell biology.