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Phase separation

Properties governing small-molecule partitioning into biomolecular condensates

Nature Chemistry volume 16, pages 1743–1745 (2024)Cite this article

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Membraneless cellular assemblies termed biomolecular condensates — into which diverse biopolymers partition — mediate myriad biological processes. A study now reveals that physicochemical features, not specific stereochemistry, influence whether small molecules are enriched within or excluded from a diverse panel of condensates.

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Fig. 1: Experimental workflow for analysing the partitioning of small molecules into different types of biomolecular condensate.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA

    Bappaditya Chandra, Swarnendu Tripathi & Richard Kriwacki

  2. Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Biochemistry, University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis, TN, USA

    Richard Kriwacki

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  1. Bappaditya Chandra
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  2. Swarnendu Tripathi
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  3. Richard Kriwacki
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Correspondence to Richard Kriwacki.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Chandra, B., Tripathi, S. & Kriwacki, R. Properties governing small-molecule partitioning into biomolecular condensates. Nat. Chem. 16, 1743–1745 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-024-01655-1

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