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Driving Forces Of Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation In Biological Systems, Boris Y. Zaslavsky, Luisa A. Ferreira, Vladimir N. Uversky
Driving Forces Of Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation In Biological Systems, Boris Y. Zaslavsky, Luisa A. Ferreira, Vladimir N. Uversky
Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications
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 …
Life In Phases: Intra- And Inter- Molecular Phase Transitions In Protein Solutions, Vladimir N. Uversky, Alexey V. Finkelstein
Life In Phases: Intra- And Inter- Molecular Phase Transitions In Protein Solutions, Vladimir N. Uversky, Alexey V. Finkelstein
Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications
Proteins, these evolutionarily-edited biological polymers, are able to undergo intramolecular and intermolecular phase transitions. Spontaneous intramolecular phase transitions define the folding of globular proteins, whereas binding-induced, intra- and inter- molecular phase transitions play a crucial role in the functionality of many intrinsically-disordered proteins. On the other hand, intermolecular phase transitions are the behind-the-scenes players in a diverse set of macrosystemic phenomena taking place in protein solutions, such as new phase nucleation in bulk, on the interface, and on the impurities, protein crystallization, protein aggregation, the formation of amyloid fibrils, and intermolecular liquid–liquid or liquid–gel phase transitions associated with the biogenesis …