Liquid spherical shells are a non-equilibrium steady state of active droplets

Alexander M. Bergmann, Jonathan Bauermann, Giacomo Bartolucci, Carsten Donau, Michele Stasi, Anna-Lena Holtmannspötter, Frank Jülicher, Christoph A. Weber () and Job Boekhoven ()
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Alexander M. Bergmann: Technical University of Munich
Jonathan Bauermann: Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems
Giacomo Bartolucci: Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems
Carsten Donau: Technical University of Munich
Michele Stasi: Technical University of Munich
Anna-Lena Holtmannspötter: Technical University of Munich
Frank Jülicher: Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems
Christoph A. Weber: University of Augsburg
Job Boekhoven: Technical University of Munich

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Liquid-liquid phase separation yields spherical droplets that eventually coarsen to one large, stable droplet governed by the principle of minimal free energy. In chemically fueled phase separation, the formation of phase-separating molecules is coupled to a fuel-driven, non-equilibrium reaction cycle. It thus yields dissipative structures sustained by a continuous fuel conversion. Such dissipative structures are ubiquitous in biology but are poorly understood as they are governed by non-equilibrium thermodynamics. Here, we bridge the gap between passive, close-to-equilibrium, and active, dissipative structures with chemically fueled phase separation. We observe that spherical, active droplets can undergo a morphological transition into a liquid, spherical shell. We demonstrate that the mechanism is related to gradients of short-lived droplet material. We characterize how far out of equilibrium the spherical shell state is and the chemical power necessary to sustain it. Our work suggests alternative avenues for assembling complex stable morphologies, which might already be exploited to form membraneless organelles by cells.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42344-w

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