Effect of lysis on condensate interaction network. (A–D) Schematics of a condensate. Proteins and nucleic acids scaffold the condensate, creating a microenvironment rich in certain proteins and nucleic acids, with its own pH and ion composition. During chemical lysis, the three major factors that destabilize condensates are (top to bottom): B increasing the overall concentration of salt molecules that can disrupt the structures within biomolecules and the interactions based on hydrogen bindings, electrostatic bindings, and cation–pi bindings; C addition of detergent molecules that can bind to hydrophobic regions of proteins and disrupt hydrophobic pockets within condensates; D the dilution effect that favors a state with more free molecules outside of condensates. Figure created using Biorender (https://biorender.com/).