Metal-ion induced coacervation of a short peptide under acidic conditions

Soft Matter 2026 Open access

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Authors: Mohammed Amin Belahouane, Morgan Robinson, Liam Grant, Olivia Young, George Zorn, Lucas Caire da Silva
DOI: 10.1039/d6sm00295a
Cited by: 1
References: 48

Abstract

promotes coacervation under high ionic strength conditions. The addition of secondary metal ions further suppresses solidification, stabilizing coacervates for up to seven days without fiber formation. Co-metals also modulate droplet properties such as polarity and viscosity, enabling fine control over the coacervate phase. Together, these findings demonstrate that metal-peptide interactions can regulate phase behavior in minimal peptide systems at low pH and provide a strategy for designing metal-responsive coacervates.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Supramolecular Self-Assembly in Materials Chemical Synthesis and Analysis Diatoms and Algae Research

Publication details

Journal / source
Soft Matter
Publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Volume
22
Issue
26
Pages
4551–4558
Publication date
1 January 2026
Language
EN