Wetting and localization of chromatin condensates by surface-enriched proteins

Surface enrichment of chromatin-binding proteins localizes a chromatin condensate at the nuclear lamina in a field-theoretic co-condensation model, even when chromatin is repelled.

• Why it matters: Direct polymer adsorption to the lamina cannot explain positioning when chromatin avoids the surface, leaving a gap in how condensates respond to boundary composition.
• What they did: The authors modeled chromatin condensates from polymer–protein co-condensation and analyzed how protein wetting versus polymer conformational constraints near an impenetrable boundary shape chromatin density.
• The result: The resulting nonmonotonic density profile peaks at a finite distance from the lamina, matching live-cell observations, and a phase diagram shows how surface affinity, protein availability, and interaction strength tune peripheral versus central configurations.

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