The phosphodiester backbone imparts nucleic acids a high negative charge density. In the presence of polymeric cations, DNA and RNA undergo charge-mediated phase separation called complex coacervation. I will show that base pairing can be used to program the macroscopic properties of nucleic acid coacervates, and thus generate mesoscale materials with sequence-programmable properties. The addressability of base pairing can also be used to produce self-sorting multi-phase coacervates with an arbitrary number of coexisting liquid-like phases. This work showcases how sequence-specific intermolecular-RNA hybridization could program the properties of RNA-containing granules in cells, and provides a quantitative framework to connect interaction energies to coacervate properties.

Talk by:
Ankur Jain
Whitehead Institute and MIT

Start time in various timezones:
7:00 am PDT
9:00 am CDT
10:00 am EDT
2:00 pm UTC
3:00 pm BST
4:00 pm CEST

Note, this event has passed, but we’ve got you covered:
See the video here

Create an Account or Sign In to register for the talk.