Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39641753›Full record

ArticleACS nano2024

A pH-Dependent Phase Separation Drives Polyamine-Mediated Silicification from Undersaturated Solutions.

Protap Biswas, Nitzan Livni, Debojit Paul, Lior Aram, Razi Safadi, Neta Varsano, Nadav Elad, Roman Kamyshinsky, Michal Leskes, Assaf Gal

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in ACS nano, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Macromolecular Condensates as Tunable Scaffolds for Bio-Inspired Silica Hybrids.Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 2026
    Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Protap BiswasDepartment of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.ORCID 0000-0002-3757-4951
Nitzan LivniDepartment of Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
Debojit PaulDepartment of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
Lior AramDepartment of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.ORCID 0000-0002-3890-0456
Razi SafadiDepartment of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
Neta VarsanoDepartment of Chemical Research Support, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
Nadav EladDepartment of Chemical Research Support, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
Roman KamyshinskyDepartment of Chemical Research Support, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.ORCID 0000-0002-8546-7763
Michal LeskesDepartment of Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.ORCID 0000-0002-7172-9689
Assaf GalDepartment of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.ORCID 0000-0003-1488-1227

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Silica polymerization from its soluble monomers is fundamental to many chemical processes. Although industrial methods require harsh conditions and concentrated precursors, biological silica precipitation occurs under ambient conditions from dilute solutions. The hallmark of biosilica is the presence of amine-rich organic macromolecules, but their functional role remains elusive. Here, we show a pH-dependent stimulatory effect of such polyamines on silica polymerization. Notably, this process is decoupled from the saturation degree, allowing the synthesis of polymer-silica hybrid products with controlled network morphologies from undersaturated solutions. The data suggest a two-step phase separation process. First, an associative liquid-liquid phase separation forms a micrometer-size dense phase. Second, silica undergoes a liquid-to-solid transition in the supersaturated condensates to form a bicontinuous silica structure. This study can inspire "soft chemistry" routes to design organic-inorganic nanomaterials with regulatory principles optimized by evolution.

Indexed as

biosilicificationmacromolecular condensatesphase separationsilica synthesissol−gel process

Identifiers

PMID39641753
PMCPMC11656833

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.