Elastic ripening and inhibition of liquid-liquid phase separation

Phase separation has recently emerged as an important organizational principle in the dense and heterogeneous environment within living cells. Here, we use a synthetic system to show that compressive stresses in a polymer network suppress phase separation of the solvent that swells it. These stresses create a barrier to droplet nucleation that leads to robust, stabilized mixtures well beyond the liquid-liquid phase separation boundary. Network stresses not only alter the stability of mixtures, but they also have a dramatic effect on the ripening of droplets. Gradients in network stresses can drive a new form of ripening, where solute is transported down stiffness gradients. This elastic ripening can be much faster than conventional surface tension driven Ostwald ripening.

No reviews yet.

No comments yet.