Electric Potential at the Interface of Membraneless Organelles Gauged by Graphene.

ABSTRACT: Eukaryotic cells contain membrane-bound and membrane-less organelles that are often in contact with each other. How the interface properties of membrane-less organelles regulate their interactions with membranes remains challenging to assess. Here, we employ graphene-based sensors to investigate the electrostatic properties of synapsin 1, a major synaptic phosphoprotein, either in a single phase or after undergoing phase separation to form synapsin condensates. Using these graphene-based sensors, we discover that synapsin condensates generate strong electrical responses that are otherwise absent when synapsin is present as a single phase. By introducing atomically thin dielectric barriers, we show that the electrical response originates in an electric double layer whose formation governs t

SUBMITTER: Hoffmann C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10722609 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature