Driving Forces of Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation in Biological Systems

Analysis of liquid−liquid phase separation in biological systems shows that this process is similar to the phase separation observed in aqueous two-phase systems formed by nonionic polymers, proteins, and polysaccharides. The emergence of interfacial tension is a necessary condition of pha...

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Main Authors:	Boris Y. Zaslavsky, Luisa A. Ferreira, Vladimir N. Uversky
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	MDPI AG 2019-09-01
Series:	Biomolecules
Subjects:	aqueous two-phase system interfacial tension liquid–liquid phase separation phase-forming polymer solvent features of water
Online Access:	https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/9/9/473

id	doaj-4ca1bc4c4b6443c6b0eb9af5c21f6da3
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spelling	doaj-4ca1bc4c4b6443c6b0eb9af5c21f6da32020-11-25T01:25:44ZengMDPI AGBiomolecules2218-273X2019-09-019947310.3390/biom9090473biom9090473Driving Forces of Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation in Biological SystemsBoris Y. Zaslavsky0Luisa A. Ferreira1Vladimir N. Uversky2Cleveland Diagnostics, Cleveland, OH 44114, USACleveland Diagnostics, Cleveland, OH 44114, USADepartment of Molecular Medicine and Byrd Alzheimer’s Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USAAnalysis of liquid−liquid phase separation in biological systems shows that this process is similar to the phase separation observed in aqueous two-phase systems formed by nonionic polymers, proteins, and polysaccharides. The emergence of interfacial tension is a necessary condition of phase separation. The situation in this regard is similar to that of phase separation in mixtures of partially miscible solvents. It is suggested that the evaluation of the effects of biological macromolecules on the solvent properties of aqueous media and the measurement of the interfacial tension as a function of these solvent properties may be more productive for gaining insights into the mechanism of liquid−liquid phase separation than the study of structural details of proteins and RNAs engaged in the process.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/9/9/473aqueous two-phase systeminterfacial tensionliquid–liquid phase separationphase-forming polymersolvent features of water
collection	DOAJ
language	English
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	Boris Y. Zaslavsky Luisa A. Ferreira Vladimir N. Uversky
spellingShingle	Boris Y. Zaslavsky Luisa A. Ferreira Vladimir N. Uversky Driving Forces of Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation in Biological Systems Biomolecules aqueous two-phase system interfacial tension liquid–liquid phase separation phase-forming polymer solvent features of water
author_facet	Boris Y. Zaslavsky Luisa A. Ferreira Vladimir N. Uversky
author_sort	Boris Y. Zaslavsky
title	Driving Forces of Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation in Biological Systems
title_short	Driving Forces of Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation in Biological Systems
title_full	Driving Forces of Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation in Biological Systems
title_fullStr	Driving Forces of Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation in Biological Systems
title_full_unstemmed	Driving Forces of Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation in Biological Systems
title_sort	driving forces of liquid–liquid phase separation in biological systems
publisher	MDPI AG
series	Biomolecules
issn	2218-273X
publishDate	2019-09-01
description	Analysis of liquid−liquid phase separation in biological systems shows that this process is similar to the phase separation observed in aqueous two-phase systems formed by nonionic polymers, proteins, and polysaccharides. The emergence of interfacial tension is a necessary condition of phase separation. The situation in this regard is similar to that of phase separation in mixtures of partially miscible solvents. It is suggested that the evaluation of the effects of biological macromolecules on the solvent properties of aqueous media and the measurement of the interfacial tension as a function of these solvent properties may be more productive for gaining insights into the mechanism of liquid−liquid phase separation than the study of structural details of proteins and RNAs engaged in the process.
topic	aqueous two-phase system interfacial tension liquid–liquid phase separation phase-forming polymer solvent features of water
url	https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/9/9/473
work_keys_str_mv	AT borisyzaslavsky drivingforcesofliquidliquidphaseseparationinbiologicalsystems AT luisaaferreira drivingforcesofliquidliquidphaseseparationinbiologicalsystems AT vladimirnuversky drivingforcesofliquidliquidphaseseparationinbiologicalsystems
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Driving Forces of Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation in Biological Systems

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