NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
The Effect of Solution Parameters on Lysozyme Nucleation Rates and Crystal QualityIn the pursuit of strongly diffracting high quality macromolecule crystals of suitable volume, this study investigates how the formation of macromolecules in solution and their growth characteristics effect crystal volume and diffracting quality. We systematically investigated the effect of solution conditions on lysozyme nucleation rates and the volume of crystals produced. Batch crystallization plates were used in combination with a video microscope system to measure nucleation rates and crystal volume. As expected from classical nucleation theory, crystal numbers were found to increase with increases in temperature and supersaturation. Small changes in solution pH, at constant supersaturation values were found, however, to dramatically effect the number of crystals nucleated in the wells varying from 1000s to 10s in the pH range 4.0 to 5.2. Having optimized the conditions required to produce an appropriate number of crystals of a suitable volume for X-ray analysis, a large number of uniform crystals were produced under exactly the same conditions. In the X-ray analysis of more than 50 such crystals there was found a wide variation in crystal lattice parameters and data quality. The variation in X-ray quality crystal samples is thought to be related to the growth rate variation caused by growth rate dispersion seen in lysozyme crystal growth experiments.
Document ID
19990095033
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Judge, R. A.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Snell, E. H.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Date Acquired
August 19, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1998
Subject Category
Solid-State Physics
Meeting Information
Meeting: American Crystallographic Association Conference
Location: Washington, DC
Country: United States
Start Date: July 18, 1998
End Date: July 23, 1998
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available