{
  "abstract": "Water is indispensable for life, yet aqueous environments can thermodynamically disfavor dehydration-driven condensation reactions relevant to prebiotic polymer formation. Whether hydrated, dynamically reorganizing compartments can establish hydration thermodynamics distinct from the surrounding solution remains unclear. Here, we show that membraneless polyester microdroplets derived from prebiotically plausible α-hydroxy acids sustain spatially organized hydration environments during thermal structural reorganization. Combining high-speed scanning ion conductance microscopy, spatially resolved Raman spectroscopy and temperature-dependent wide-angle X-ray scattering, we resolve dynamic interfaces, spatial hydration gradients and reversible polymer organization. Crucially, Raman-derived average hydrogen-bond coordination within the droplets remains lower and markedly less temperature-dependent than in the corresponding aqueous solution. Van’t Hoff analysis of intact versus broken hydrogen bonds reveals attenuated apparent enthalpic and entropic contributions to redistribution. Together, these findings demonstrate that dynamically reconfiguring polymer-rich compartments can maintain distinct hydration thermodynamics during thermal perturbation, linking the physical chemistry of water with soft compartmentalization under hydrated conditions.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Biofunctional Catalyst Research Team",
    "RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS",
    "WPI Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University",
    "Materials Characterization Support Team",
    "RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS",
    "Office of Research and Academia-Government-Community Collaboration, Hiroshima University, 1-3-2 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan",
    "Blue Marble Space, 600 1st Ave, Floor 1, Seattle, WA, USA, 98104",
    "Catalysis and Integrated Research Group",
    "Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI",
    "Institute of Science Tokyo"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Chen Chen",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4880-3617"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Shinji Watanabe"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Linhao Sun"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Kiyohiro Adachi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Priyanka Sharma"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Tony Z. Jia"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Aufandra Cakra Wardhana"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Kosuke Dodo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Daisuke Hashizume"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        8,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Ryuhei Nakamura"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6gfnrdn6cv34g.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15009972/v1",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "6gfnrdn6cv34g",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009972/v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Origins and Evolution of Life"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220701071",
  "pdf_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/pdf/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009972/v1",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-06",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6gfnrdn6cv34g.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:22Z",
      "native_id": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15009972",
      "source": "chemrxiv",
      "url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009972/v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "openalex:3103|Origins and Evolution of Life",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Membraneless microdroplets generate thermodynamically distinct states of water under fully hydrated conditions",
  "title_text": "Membraneless microdroplets generate thermodynamically distinct states of water under fully hydrated conditions",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:22Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6gfnrdn6cv34g",
  "venue": "ChemRxiv",
  "versions": []
}