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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2024 Oct 28.
Published in final edited form as: Chem Rev. 2023 Mar 7;123(14):8945–8987. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00814

Figure 11: Schematics summarizing the physical principles of complex coacervation.

Figure 11:

(A) Two polyelectrolytes, a polycation (left) and polyanion (right) can form a complex driven by a combination of complementary electrostatic interactions and the release of counterions. (B) and (C) show the formation of coexisting dilute and dense phase (coacervate) from the vantage point of the salt (B) and the polyelectrolytes (C). (D) The charge states of ionizable residues will be sensitive to pH and this can affect the complexation and coacervation of polyelectrolytes and polyampholytes (schematic shows the latter).