Light selects non-equilibrium states of phase-separated droplets
Abstract
Driving phase-separated droplets out of equilibrium can oppose coarsening and trigger division. Selecting and sustaining these distinct states remains an important experimental challenge. Here, we use reversible photoswitching to tune molecular driving in DNA-azobenzene coacervates confined in microfluidic droplets without chemical fuel depletion or waste accumulation. Single-wavelength illumination sustaining bidirectional molecular switching arrests droplet coarsening at a finite size. Dual-wavelength illumination with wavelength-dependent penetration depths generates spatially asymmetric molecular driving within uniformly illuminated droplets, producing persistent interfacial instabilities. Under low-salt conditions, droplets divide and undergo recurrent growth-division cycles. Kinetic and thermodynamic measurements reveal how flux balance, phase stability and droplet size govern these distinct non-equilibrium states. These findings establish optically controlled molecular driving as a route to selecting sustained non-equilibrium droplet dynamics.
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BibTeX
@misc{lin2026light,
title = {{Light selects non-equilibrium states of phase-separated droplets}},
author = {Zi Lin and Thomas Beneyton and Suzanne Lafon and Edison Rafael Jimenez Granda and Liangfei Tian and Alexandre Baron and Jean-Christophe Baret and Nicolas Martin},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2606.27220},
eprint = {2606.27220},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.27220},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Light selects non-equilibrium states of phase-separated droplets
AU - Zi Lin
AU - Thomas Beneyton
AU - Suzanne Lafon
AU - Edison Rafael Jimenez Granda
AU - Liangfei Tian
AU - Alexandre Baron
AU - Jean-Christophe Baret
AU - Nicolas Martin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2606.27220
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.27220
AB - Driving phase-separated droplets out of equilibrium can oppose coarsening and trigger division. Selecting and sustaining these distinct states remains an important experimental challenge. Here, we use reversible photoswitching to tune molecular driving in DNA-azobenzene coacervates confined in microfluidic droplets without chemical fuel depletion or waste accumulation. Single-wavelength illumination sustaining bidirectional molecular switching arrests droplet coarsening at a finite size. Dual-wavelength illumination with wavelength-dependent penetration depths generates spatially asymmetric molecular driving within uniformly illuminated droplets, producing persistent interfacial instabilities. Under low-salt conditions, droplets divide and undergo recurrent growth-division cycles. Kinetic and thermodynamic measurements reveal how flux balance, phase stability and droplet size govern these distinct non-equilibrium states. These findings establish optically controlled molecular driving as a route to selecting sustained non-equilibrium droplet dynamics.
ER -