Date: Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Time: 9:30-10:30AM
Location: Health Science Technology Building (HST), Forum Room 101
This event features Christine Keating who will talk about "RNA compartmentalization by liquid-liquid phase coexistence in polyelectrolyte solutions", as part of the Lehigh University Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering's Spring Colloquium Seminar Series.
Abstract
Multivalent polyions can undergo a type of liquid-liquid phase separation called complex coacervation, producing membraneless compartments able to provide distinct microenvironments, accumulate solutes, and facilitate reactions. This presentation will focus on the physical chemistry of complex coacervate systems with an eye towards their feasibility as microenvironments for biomolecules such as RNAs. Examples include RNA sorting in multiphase droplets and tuning droplet-membrane interactions to produce hybrid protocells. By greatly simplifying the experimental systems as compared to biological condensates, we hope to uncover general underlying physiochemical mechanisms that can provide insight into the organization and function of biological cells, their prebiotic ancestors, and their artificial analogues.
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