(197t) Molecular Interactions, Architecture and Dynamics in Biomolecular Phase Separation

Biomolecular condensates (BMCs) are non-stoichiometric assemblies of biomolecules which are essential for compartmentalization in biology, and generally form through a process of phase separation. They are promising as targets for drug development, as well as a unique strategy for various biotechnological applications. BMCs can be characterized by their materials properties, responses to external stimuli, and by multi-component phase diagrams. What underlies each of these properties is a complex network of molecular interactions between amino acid residues, nucleotides, specific interaction sites of proteins and nucleic acids, as well as solvent and co-solvent. By using multi-scale computational techniques, we study the interactions between molecules and subunits of molecules to understand how these interactions impact materials properties, and phase diagrams.