Spatiotemporal organization of coacervate microdroplets

Abstract Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) has emerged as a new paradigm in the fields of soft matter, colloid chemistry, prebiotic chemistry, and cell biology. As phase separation is a dynamic assembly process, how to spatiotemporally regulate the assembly and disassembly of these micrometre-sized droplets, which are referred as biomolecular condensates in biology is essential for their diverse applications in various disciplines. Herein, we discuss recent advances in the spatiotemporal control of phase separation using different physical tools and external environmental stimuli in bulk solutions and living cells. Specifically, the exploration of phase transition in a compartmentalized protocellular system, which can bridge the gap between synthetic and intracellular LLPS systems, is summarized, and the challenges and future research directions are discussed.