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CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik
CPP 45: Focus Session: Theoretical Modeling and Simulation of Biomolecular Condensates I (joint session CPP/BP)
CPP 45.4: Talk
Thursday, March 12, 2026, 10:30–10:45, ZEU/0260
Active Transport as a Mechanism of Microphase Selection in Biomolecular Condensates — •Le Qiao, Peter Gispert, and Friederike Schmid — Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, D55099 Mainz, Germany
Cells control the size and organization of biomolecular condensates formed by liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), yet the underlying physical principles remain incompletely understood. We propose a transport-driven mechanism in which undirected motor-mediated motion along cytoskeletal filaments redistributes phase-separating components, generating an effective non-equilibrium long-range repulsion that arrests coarsening. This is explored using a minimal reaction-diffusion-transport model that captures the interplay between binding-release kinetics, diffusion, and active transport. A linear stability analysis and three-dimensional simulations reveal a transition from macroscopic to microphase separation at remarkably low binding/release fractions, corresponding to minute fractions of motor-bound proteins. Tuning motor binding rates b or transport velocities enables sublinear control of condensate dimensions (L ∼ b1/4) from nanometers to micrometers. This mechanism provides a simple physical route for spatially programmable condensate organization in living cells and active materials.
Keywords: LLPS; biomolecular condensates; active transport; Ginzburg-Landau dynamics