Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA.
J Chem Phys. 2022 May 21;156(19):191104. doi: 10.1063/5.0088004.
We present a mean-field theoretical model, along with molecular dynamics simulations, to show that the multiphase organization of multi-component condensates is a second phase transition. Whereas the first phase transition that leads to the separation of condensates from the bulk phase is driven by the overall attraction among the macromolecular components, the second phase transition can be driven by the disparity in the strength between the self- and cross-species attraction. At a fixed level of disparity in interaction strengths, both of the phase transitions can be observed by decreasing the temperature, leading first to the separation of condensates from the bulk phase and then to component demixing inside condensates. The existence of a critical temperature for demixing and predicted binodals are verified by molecular dynamics simulations of model mixtures.
我们提出了一个平均场理论模型，并结合分子动力学模拟，表明多组分凝聚体的多相组织是一个二级相变。虽然导致凝聚体从体相分离的一级相变是由大分子组分之间的总体吸引力驱动的，但二级相变可以由自相互作用和交叉相互作用强度之间的差异驱动。在相互作用强度差异固定的水平下，通过降低温度都可以观察到这两个相变，首先是凝聚体从体相分离，然后是凝聚体内的成分分相。通过对模型混合物的分子动力学模拟，验证了分相的临界温度和预测的双节点的存在。
