Ion accumulation in liquid–liquid phase separation regulates biomolecule localization, finds study

Researchers have identified a new physicochemical principle governing liquid–liquid phase separation in polymer solutions. Their research demonstrates that during the separation of a polymer mixture into two fluid phases, coexisting ions are unequally distributed between the phases. The paper is published in the journal ACS Macro Letters. The team includes Miho Yanagisawa, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo; Hiroki Sakuta, a project assistant professor; Arash Nikoubashman, a Heisenberg Professor at the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden; and their colleagues.