Physical Modeling Service for Protein Phase Separation

Phase separation is a concept in physics in which a system spontaneously exhibits two or more distinct but coexisting phases at equilibrium. Under physiologically relevant salt, pH and temperature conditions, membrane-free structures composed of proteins are spontaneously assembled in cells and formed by protein phase separation. Protein phase separation plays an important role in normal cell physiology. Conversely, misregulated protein phase separation can lead to dire consequences, resulting in neurodegenerative diseases. As scientists learn more and more about the formation of biomolecular condensates by undergoing phase separation in vitro and intracellularly, it is natural to wonder what processes or combinations of processes lead to phase separation. Therefore, physical models need to be developed to analyze the structural and dynamic features encoded by their amino acid sequences in order to understand their phase separation behavior.

Fig. 1. Molecular basis for membrane-less organelles assembly. (Mitrea D M, et al., 2016)

Customized Services

The key concept of the physical mechanism of protein phase separation lies in statistical mechanics. Entropy and interaction strength are two important factors that determine whether mixing or phase separation occurs in biological systems. As an ideal partner for liquid-liquid phase separation services of proteins, CD BioSciences offers the following popular physical models of protein phase separation as a theoretical framework for understanding protein phase separation in biological systems.

• Flory-Huggins Model
  We provide the simple Flory-Huggins model to help you visualize the spontaneous layering properties of phase separation. The model contains two molecules and is used to fit data from different systems involved in protein phase separation to create more complex models.
• Multivalent Interaction Model
  Chemotaxis is the number of bonds or interactions that a protein can form with other proteins and plays a central role in determining phase separation behavior. We provide a theoretical framework of how a protein's chemical valence leads to phase separation to more accurately model protein phase separation. The model allows for the incorporation of individual monomer aggregation into protein phase separation.
• Sheet Colloid Model
  Our lamellar colloid models incorporate the geometry of the particles present in the system and are able to fine-tune their unique models to more accurately represent the experimental system. In addition, we combine the lamellar colloid model with simulations to generate a phase diagram of the system for you to perform protein phase separation.
• Amino Acid Composition Models
  We provide amino acid composition models to analyze specific molecules or molecular regions of a protein family that are involved in phase separation, helping you to identify important interactions for phase separation in proteins.
• Biophysical Simulations
  We develop biophysical protein characterization and phase separation simulations based on image-only models to analyze various aspects of proteins in biological systems and to predict how proteins will behave.

In addition, based on rich physical models of protein phase separation, our experts focus on the role of protein phase separation in cancer to develop alternative cancer treatment strategies.

We have multiple physical models of protein phase separation to provide researchers with additional ways to study and understand protein phase separation. Each model has its own level of complexity. Depending on the requirements of your project, we will develop the best solution for you. If you are interested in our services, please do not hesitate to contact us for more information.