Cell-Sized Confinements Alter Molecular Diffusion in Concentrated Polymer Solutions Due to Length-Dependent Wetting of Polymers

Living cells are characterized by the micrometric confinement of various macromolecules at high concentrations. Using droplets containing binary polymer blends as artificial cells, we previously showed that cell-sized causes phase separation solutions because length-dependent wetting polymers. Here, demonstrate confinement-induced heterogeneity polymers also emerges in single-component solutions. The resulting structural leads to a slower transport small molecules center than bulk Coarse-grained molecular simulations support this heterogeneous distribution length and effective shorter chains droplet surface originates from conformational entropy. Our results suggest functions regulator for polydisperse specifically manipulates diffusion molecules, particularly those with sizes close correlation chains.