Fig. 8. Effect of excess ion concentration (0.15 M NaCl) on energetics, wetting, membrane remodeling, and coacervate deformation. Comparisons are drawn for two systems, namely, 40% POPG and 50% POPG. (a) Component-wise energies show that the polyelectrolyte–polyelectrolyte (red) and polyelectrolyte-lipid (green) interactions get more destabilized in the presence of excess ions, whereas polyelectrolyte-ion (blue) interactions become a substantial stabilizing factor. The energy values are subtracted from the respective values for the pure POPC system and thus are relative. (b) Time-averaged numbers of contacts between different components reveal a decrease in the polyelectrolyte–polyelectrolyte and polyelectrolyte-lipid contacts in the presence of excess ions. (c) The radius of gyration along the membrane normal (Z-axis) and asphericity parameter reveal a decreased spread of the droplet on 50% POPG membrane. (d) Polyelectrolyte-induced curvature generation and local demixing of lipids are observed, although the amplitude is attenuated in the presence of excess ions.