Conformational Properties of Polymers at Droplet Interfaces as Model Systems for Disordered Proteins.

ABSTRACT: Polymer models serve as useful tools for studying the formation and physical properties of biomolecular condensates. In recent years, the interface dividing the dense and dilute phases of condensates has been discovered to be closely related to their functionality, but the conformational preferences of the constituent proteins remain unclear. To elucidate this, we perform molecular simulations of a droplet formed by liquid‒liquid phase separation of homopolymers, as a surrogate model for the prion-like low-complexity domains. By systematically analyzing the polymer conformations at different locations in the droplet, we find that the chains become compact at the droplet interface compared to the droplet interior. Further, segmental analysis revealed that the end sections of the chains are

SUBMITTER: Wang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10418094 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature