Get ready to dive into the Free Energy!

Cells can be described as systems made of different phases. For instance, biomolecular condensates are dense droplets of proteins that coexist with the rest of the cytoplasm. Thermodynamics is a helpful theoretical framework to understand phases in cells. In this video, we explain the concept of Free Energy of a mixture and we see how can we predict the equilibrium state of the system from the Free Energy.

Prepared by Mariona Esquerda Ciutat from the Hyman and Jülicher labs in Dresden.

The post Diving into the Free Energy: Part 1 appeared first on RTG 3120 Biomolecular Condensates.

Phase Diagrams are graphic representations that help understand many physical systems such as magnets and pure substances like water. These diagrams also help us understand how dense droplets of biomolecules, called Biomolecular Condensates, form inside cells. Phase Diagrams predict under which conditions these condensates can form and also what will be their molecular concentration. Watch this quick intro to learn more! References: -Video C. Elegans: Fritsch, Diaz-Delgadillo, Adame-Arana et al., PNAS (2021) https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas… -Multicomponent Phase Diagram: Bauerman, Laha, McCall, and Weber JACS (2022) https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/…

Prepared by Mariona Esquerda Ciutat from the Hyman and Jülicher labs in Dresden.

The post A quick intro to the Phase Diagram appeared first on RTG 3120 Biomolecular Condensates.