2025/03/17 by J. F. Holland, Timothy J. Nott, Dirk G. A. L. Aarts · 1 voice · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications #Lipid Membrane Structure and Behavior #nanoparticles nucleation surface interactions
paper · pdf · doi:10.1063/5.0253522
openalex publication_date 2025/03/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
The localization of biomolecular condensates to intracellular membrane surfaces has emerged as an important feature of sub-cellular organization. In this work, we study the wetting behavior of biomolecular condensates on various substrates. We use confocal microscopy to measure the contact angles of model condensates formed by intrinsically disordered protein Ddx4N. We show the importance of taking optical aberrations into account, as these impact apparent contact angle measurements. Ddx4N condensates are seen to partially dry (contact angles above 90°) a model membrane, with little dependence on the magnitude of charge on, or tyrosine content of, Ddx4N. Further contact angle measurements on surfaces of varying hydrophilicity reveal a preference of Ddx4N condensates for hydrophobic surfaces, suggesting an intrinsic repulsion between protein condensates and hydrophilic membrane surfaces. This observation is in line with previous studies relating protein adsorption to surface hydrophilicity. Our work advances the understanding of the molecular details governing the localization of biomolecular condensates.