Liquid–liquid separation underlies the formation of condensates. Physically, such systems are microemulsions in general have a propensity to fuse and coalesce; however, many persist as independent droplets in the test tube and inside. This stability is crucial for their function, but the physicochemical that control the emulsion stability of condensates remain understood. Here, by combining single-condensate zeta potential, optical microscopy, tweezer experiments, and multiscale modeling, we investigate how the nanoscale forces that sustain impact their stability against fusion. By comparing peptide–RNA(PR25:PolyU) and proteinaceous (FUS) condensates, we show a higher condensate surface charge correlates with a lower fusion. Moreover, measurements of single condensate zeta potentials that such systems can constitute classically stable emulsions. together, these results highlight the role of passive stabilization in protecting biomolecular condensates against coalescence.
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Welsh et al. (2022) studied this question.