  We study the thermodynamics of binary mixtures with the volume fraction of
the minority component less than the amount required to form a flat interface
and show that the surface tension dominated equilibrium phase of the mixture
forms a single macroscopic droplet. Elastic interactions in gel-polymer
mixtures stabilize a phase with multiple droplets. Using a mean-field free
energy we compute the droplet size as a function of the interfacial tension,
Flory parameter, and elastic moduli of the gel. Our results illustrate the role
of elastic interactions in dictating the phase behavior of biopolymers
undergoing liquid-liquid phase separation.
