Fig. 1. Coacervation behaviours of poly-(l-aspartate) (PAsp) with side-chain modifications. (a) Chemical structures of PAsp with pendant hydroxypropyl (Pr-OH) or butyl (Bu) groups. (b) Optical microscopic images of coacervate droplets prepared from polyanions with different charge density (σ) at the optimal NaCl concentration (σ, [NaCl]) (scalebar 50 μm). (c) Schematic diagram of effect of lowering charge density (σ) on coacervation. (d) Critical salt concentration for dissociation (Csdis) of coacervates with different σ.
