Phase separation kinetics of bioinspired condensates under passive and active conditions

A large body of work has been devoted this last decade to membraneless organelles, also called biomolecular condensates, which turn out to ensure a number of essential functions in cells. Notably, they enable biochemical reactions involved for instance in metabolism, homeostasis, stimulus response but also pathological processes such as fibrillation and virus production. Unlike membrane-bound compartments, the formation of these condensates can be viewed as phase separation of fluid mixtures occurring within the active environment of living cells. The chemical reactions hosted by the condensates consume fuel and release waste that are externally adjusted, thus driving the system in a nonequilibrium state. The objective of this project is to investigate the phase separation kinetics of bioinspired condensates under either passive or active conditions, that is, when phase separation is driven by free energy minimization or biochemical reactions, respectively.