Crystallization of proteins under an external electric field

Abstract An external electric field affects the crystallization of proteins when applied under some conditions of temperature, pH, and precipitating agent composition. As suggested in the theoretical part of this paper, it produces large protein concentration gradients inside the mother liquor leading to a local supersaturation area in the crystallization solution. Such an experiment has been used for the first time on the crystallization of a protein. The effects of an external electric field on the crystallization of hen egg-white lysozyme at 293 K, pH 4.5, and two NaCl concentrations (0.6–0.7 M) have been investigated using the vapor diffusion method. The application of electric field results in a smaller number of crystals with larger size. The crystals grew at the droplet surface, near the cathode. The nucleation rate is drastically reduced and this experimental method could be used to control the number of crystals in the droplet.

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