Positioning of Particles in Active Droplets

David Zwicker, Johannes Baumgart, Stefanie Redemann, Thomas Müller-Reichert, Anthony A. Hyman, and Frank Jülicher
Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 158102 – Published 12 October 2018

Abstract

Chemically active droplets are nonequilibrium systems that combine phase separation with chemical reactions. We here investigate how the activity introduced by the chemical reactions influences solid particles inside such droplets. We find that passive particles are centered in active droplets governed by first-order reactions. In autocatalytic active droplets, only catalytically active particles can be centered. An example of such systems in biology are centrosomes. Our study can account for the observed positioning of centrioles and provides a general mechanism to control the position of particles within chemically active droplets.

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  • Received 16 March 2018
  • Revised 6 August 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.158102

© 2018 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Physics of Living SystemsPolymers & Soft Matter

Authors & Affiliations

David Zwicker1,2,3,*, Johannes Baumgart3, Stefanie Redemann4,5, Thomas Müller-Reichert4, Anthony A. Hyman6, and Frank Jülicher3

  • 1Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
  • 2John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
  • 3Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, 01187 Dresden, Germany
  • 4Technische Universität Dresden, Experimental Center, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Fiedlerstraße 42, 01307 Dresden, Germany
  • 5Center for Membrane and Cell Physiology and Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia, School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, USA
  • 6Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, 01307 Dresden, Germany

  • *Corresponding author. david.zwicker@ds.mpg.de

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Issue

Vol. 121, Iss. 15 — 12 October 2018

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