Current practices in the study of biomolecular condensates: a community comment

Simon Alberti (), Paolo Arosio, Robert B. Best, Steven Boeynaems, Danfeng Cai, Rosana Collepardo-Guevara (), Gregory L. Dignon, Rumiana Dimova, Shana Elbaum-Garfinkle, Nicolas L. Fawzi, Monika Fuxreiter, Amy S. Gladfelter (), Alf Honigmann, Ankur Jain, Jerelle A. Joseph, Tuomas P. J. Knowles, Keren Lasker, Edward A. Lemke, Kresten Lindorff-Larsen, Reinhard Lipowsky, Jeetain Mittal (), Samrat Mukhopadhyay, Sua Myong (), Rohit V. Pappu, Karsten Rippe, Tatyana A. Shelkovnikova, Anthony G. Vecchiarelli, Susanne Wegmann, Huaiying Zhang, Mingjie Zhang, Chloe Zubieta, Markus Zweckstetter (), Dorothee Dormann () and Tanja Mittag ()
Additional contact information
Simon Alberti: Technische Universität Dresden
Paolo Arosio: ETH Zurich
Robert B. Best: National Institutes of Health
Steven Boeynaems: Baylor College of Medicine
Danfeng Cai: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Rosana Collepardo-Guevara: Lensfield Road
Gregory L. Dignon: State University of New Jersey
Rumiana Dimova: Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces
Shana Elbaum-Garfinkle: CUNY
Nicolas L. Fawzi: Brown University
Monika Fuxreiter: University of Padova
Amy S. Gladfelter: Duke University
Alf Honigmann: Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering (CMCB)
Ankur Jain: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Jerelle A. Joseph: Princeton University
Tuomas P. J. Knowles: Lensfield Road
Keren Lasker: The Scripps Research Institute
Edward A. Lemke: Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
Kresten Lindorff-Larsen: University of Copenhagen
Reinhard Lipowsky: Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces
Jeetain Mittal: Texas A&M University
Samrat Mukhopadhyay: Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER)
Sua Myong: Boston Children’s Hospital
Rohit V. Pappu: Washington University in St. Louis
Karsten Rippe: Division of Chromatin Networks
Tatyana A. Shelkovnikova: University of Sheffield
Anthony G. Vecchiarelli: University of Michigan
Susanne Wegmann: German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)
Huaiying Zhang: Carnegie Mellon University
Mingjie Zhang: Southern University of Science and Technology
Chloe Zubieta: Commissariat à lʼénergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)
Markus Zweckstetter: Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences
Dorothee Dormann: Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
Tanja Mittag: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: The realization that the cell is abundantly compartmentalized into biomolecular condensates has opened new opportunities for understanding the physics and chemistry underlying many cellular processes1, fundamentally changing the study of biology2. The term biomolecular condensate refers to non-stoichiometric assemblies that are composed of multiple types of macromolecules in cells, occur through phase transitions, and can be investigated by using concepts from soft matter physics3. As such, they are intimately related to aqueous two-phase systems4 and water-in-water emulsions5. Condensates possess tunable emergent properties such as interfaces, interfacial tension, viscoelasticity, network structure, dielectric permittivity, and sometimes interphase pH gradients and electric potentials6–14. They can form spontaneously in response to specific cellular conditions or to active processes, and cells appear to have mechanisms to control their size and location15–17. Importantly, in contrast to membrane-enclosed organelles such as mitochondria or peroxisomes, condensates do not require the presence of a surrounding membrane.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62055-8

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