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Recent work has shown that the intracellular environment is organized not only through membrane-bound organelles but also through fluid droplets that emerge through liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS). Intracellular LLPS has attracted recent attention because these fluid droplets, termed biomolecular condensates or membraneless organelles, seem to play important roles in cells' responses to stress, gene regulation, and pathologies. Our understanding of intracellular LLPS has advanced through many quantitative biophysical techniques. Here, we describe a set of undergraduate lab activities that highlight these biophysical techniques. We use various optical microscopy methods and quantitative image analysis to characterize the physical properties of a model aqueous system that exhibits liquid–liquid phase separation. These lab activities can form a multiweek module that exposes students to this exciting new and interdisciplinary field that investigates how phase transitions organize the cell interior.

Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation: Undergraduate Labs on a New Paradigm for Intracellular Organization