We published multiple papers in the first half of 2024! We study how higher-order interactions, wall affinity, membrane binding and dimerization, as well as non-local elasticity affect phase separation. All these papers will help us to better understand how condensates form in cells.
Read MoreWe published a new pre-print on a theory of Elastic Microphase Separation explaining recent experiments. In the experiments, phase separation in an elastic PDMS gel lead to regular patterns whose length scale decreased for stiffer meshes. Our theory based on nonlocal elasticity explains this behavior and the observed continuous phase transition.
Read MoreOur paper on the “Nucleation of chemically active droplets” has been published in PRL. In this work spearheaded by Noah Ziethen, we wondered how chemical reactions affect the rate at which droplets emerge. Our numerical simulations and analytical theory indicate that reactions generally suppress nucleation when the dilute phase is stable.
Read MoreIn our latest manuscript, we show that Physical interactions promote Turing patterns. We looked at reaction-diffusion systems where components interact physically. To our surprise, even weak interactions help create Turing patterns, thus widening the parameter range where patterns appear.
Read MoreThe first results from our collaboration with Raphael Mercier from MPI-PZ was recently published in Nature Communications. In this paper, we describe how little droplets on condensed chromosomes determine where the maternal and paternal chromosomes combine during meiosis. Our work provides evidence for a recently emerged coarsening model in this important step during sexual reproduction.
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We uploaded a preprint on the main results from Ajinkya’s PhD thesis on arxiv. In this slightly technical work, we propose a new numerical algorithm to simulate interacting active droplets.
The main idea of the algorithm is to only simulate the relevant degrees of freedom, which in our case are droplet radii & positions as well as large-scale information about the background field. This reduced set of variables can be evolved in time much faster than the usual fine-grained fields necessary for a full description of the phase separation process, e.g., using a Cahn-Hilliard equation. We are now in a position to simulate systems of much larger size for longer evolution times, optionally also with (active) chemical turnover and imposed chemical gradients; see the inset. To develop the algorithm, and in particular couple the dynamics of the droplets to the background field, we leveraged analytical results to bridge length scales. In the future, this approach will allow us to explorer dynamics that are relevant to the behavior of droplets in biological cells and other challenging situations that were previously not numerically accessible.
We published a new review on phase separation and chemical reactions in multi-component fluids on arXiv.
Read MoreNew preprint “Evolved interactions stabilize many coexisting phases in multicomponent liquids”
Read MoreWe assessed the formation of droplets in elastic gels using a new model in a recent publication in PNAS. In our study, we simulated how environmental factors such as temperature influence the size of oil droplets in elastic matrices. Our study will also help understanding droplet formation in biological cells, where biological molecules self-organize in condensates.
Read MoreOur paper on modeling active droplets has been published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. In this work, we identify the minimal ingredients to control droplets via chemical reactions. Prime examples for such regulation are biomolecular condensates in cells.
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