Structure of Complex Coacervates Formed by Polylysine Single-Chain Nanoparticles and RNA

One key aspect of complex coacervation that remains unexplored is the
chain conformation and topology of its constituents. The main
challenge in discerning the conformational effect from molecular
interactions lies in the fact that both are governed by the same
parameters, such as chemical composition, charge density, and
screening length. Here, we propose to study complex coacervates of RNA
with with well-defined poly-L-lysine (PLL) single-chain nanoparticles
(SCNPs) with varying conformation but constant molecular weight and
charge density. SAXS will be employed to quantify the average
correlations between oppositely charged electrostatic blobs within the
condensates, which is the key parameter defining the internal structure.