Dilution induced coacervation in polyelectrolyte-micelle and polyelectrolyte-protein systems.

"Self-suppression", the instability of complex coacervates at high concentration, is well-known for polycation-polyanion systems, but the transient nature of those complexes impedes development of a convincing model. The stable polyelectrolyte-micelle complexes of the polycation poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) with mixed micelles of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)/Triton X-100 (TX100); and the stable complexes of PDADMAC with bovine serum albumin (BSA) can be characterized and identified as coacervate precursors. We observe liquid-liquid phase separation upon isoionic dilution, a common facet of self-suppression.