Editing Cytoplasm (section)

===As a sol-gel===

There has long been evidence that the cytoplasm behaves like a [[sol-gel]].<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Taylor CV |year=1923 |title=The contractile vacuole in Euplotes: An example of the sol-gel reversibility of cytoplasm |journal=Journal of Experimental Zoology |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=259–289 |bibcode=1923JEZ....37..259T |doi=10.1002/jez.1400370302}}</ref> It is thought that the component molecules and structures of the cytoplasm behave at times like a disordered [[colloidal]] solution (sol) and at other times like an integrated network, forming a solid mass (gel). This theory thus proposes that the cytoplasm exists in distinct fluid and solid phases depending on the level of interaction between cytoplasmic components, which may explain the differential dynamics of different particles observed moving through the cytoplasm. A papers suggested that at [[length scale]] smaller than 100&nbsp;[[nanometer|nm]], the cytoplasm acts like a liquid, while in a larger length scale, it acts like a gel.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kwapiszewska |first=Karina |last2=Szczepański |first2=Krzysztof |display-authors=1 |date=31 July 2020 |title=Nanoscale Viscosity of Cytoplasm Is Conserved in Human Cell Lines |journal=[[The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters]] |volume=11 |issue=16 |pages=6914–6920 |doi=10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c01748 |pmc=7450658 |pmid=32787203 |doi-access=free}}</ref>