Fig. 5: Engineering accelerated wetting between two coacervates and its mechanisms.

Coacervates C₁ (or C₃) were formed using a mixture containing a final concentration of 0.06 µM of A₁₅₀₀ and 1.5 µM of either B_8-1 or B_8-3. Coacervates C₃₁ were generated from 0.06 µM A₁₅₀₀ and a mixture totaling 1.5 µM of B_8-1 and B_8-3. a Illustration of three distinct coacervate structures (C₁ in magenta, C₃ in cyan, and C₃₁ in dark cyan) synthesized using different binders (B_8-1, B_8-3, and a mixture of B_8-3 and B_8-1). The experiments were performed at 37 °C with gentle rotation at 80 rpm unless otherwise specified. b Wetting behavior upon the combination of C₁ and C₃. c Accelerated wetting behavior upon the combination of C₁ and C₃₁ by the introduction of B_8-1 in the C₃₁ system at a ratio of 75%:25% B_8-3:B_8-1 (1.125 µM of B_8-3 and 0.375 µM of B_8-1). d Accelerated wetting behavior upon the combination of C₁ and C₃₁ by introducing B_8-1 in the C₃₁ system at a ratio of 50%:50% B_8-3:B_8-1 (0.75 µM of B_8-3 and 0.75 µM of B_8-1). The experiments were conducted at 37 °C without rotation to minimize collisions. e Suggested mechanisms of coacervate fusion for C₁ and C₃. The molecular exchange between different-type coacervates occurs through either detachment of the binders and their diffusion or strand displacement. Scale bars: 10 μm.