ArticleNature chemistry2026
Biomolecular condensates sustain pH gradients at equilibrium through charge neutralization.
Article in Nature chemistry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed.
- The effects of pH on cortex and condensate formation.The Journal of cell biology · 2026Article
- Probing biomolecular condensates with a minimally perturbative experimental readout framework.The Biochemical journal · 2026Review
- Microfluidics for protein interaction studies: current methods, challenges, and future perspectives.European biophysics journal : EBJ · 2026Review
- SRSF1 modulates the dark nucleolar cap pH to restore nucleolar integrity and function.Nature chemical biology · 2026Article
- Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation-Enhanced Multienzyme Catalysis: Mechanisms and Applications.ChemSusChem · 2026Review
- AI-Powered, Temperature-Resolved Centrifugal Microfluidics for Rapid 3D Phase-Diagram Generation of Biomolecular Condensates.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Bacterial ribonucleoprotein bodies maintain an acidic pH environment as a mechanism of enzyme regulation.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Current Challenges of Transcription Compartmentalization Research.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Molecular Origins of pH Gradients in Charge-Regulated Biomolecular Condensates.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Multiaxial Biophysical Control of Oncogenic Phase Separation by Indoleamines: A Proof-of-Concept Synthesis of Landscape-Level Regulation.Journal of pineal research · 2026Review
- Biomolecular Condensates Act as Distinct Solvation Environments That Reshape Amino Acid pJournal of the American Chemical Society · 2026Article
- PERSPECTIVE: organelle positioning as a principle of metabolic regulation and stress tolerance.The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology · 2026Review
- Learning molecular determinants of selective small-molecule partitioning across biomolecular condensates.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Bottom-Up Coacervate-Based Artificial Cells: Integrating Cellular Hallmarks into Complex Life-Like Systems.Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 2026Review
- Molecular origins of opalescence and phase separation in mAb formulations and their relation to aggregation.Communications chemistry · 2026Article
- The role of N-terminal acetylation on biomolecular condensation.Communications chemistry · 2026Article
- Lipoengineering of Biomolecular Condensates Controls Material Properties and Multiphase Hierarchy to Guide Organoid Morphogenesis.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Origins of the Intrinsic Redox Activity of Biomolecular Condensates.Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2026Article
- Asymmetry in Hydrophobicity Induces Electric Potential in Non-Charged Biomolecular Condensates.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Metal-dependent and metal-free mechanisms of peptide condensate catalysts.Nature communications · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
19 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Electrochemical gradients are essential to the functioning of cells and form across membranes using active transporters. Here we show in contrast that condensed biomolecular systems-often termed condensates-sustain pH gradients without any external energy input. By studying individual condensates on the micrometre scale using a microdroplet platform, we reveal dense-phase pH shifts towards conditions of minimal electrostatic repulsion. We demonstrate that protein condensates can drive substantial alkaline and acidic gradients, which are compositionally tunable and can extend to complex architectures sustaining multiple unique pH conditions simultaneously. Through in silico characterization of human proteomic condensate networks, we further highlight potential wide-ranging electrochemical properties emerging from condensation in nature, while correlating intracellular condensate pH gradients with complex biomolecular composition. Together, the emergent nature of condensation shapes distinct pH microenvironments, thereby creating a regulatory mechanism to modulate biochemical activity in living and artificial systems.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.