Explanation for the supersaturation dependence
of the morphology of lysozyme crystals
Grimbergen RFP, Boek ES, Meekes H, Bennema P
JOURNAL OF CRYSTAL GROWTH
207: (1-2) 112-121 NOV 1999
Abstract:
In this paper the growth morphology of crystals of the protein lysozyme
and its experimentally observed dependence on the supersaturation is explained
by the presence of multiple connected nets or surface configurations. The
F-forms found by a connected net analysis are {1 1 0}, {1 0 1} and {1 1
1}. From the connected nets, besides the attachment energies, also the
step energies are estimated. The results of the morphological analysis
are compared with
recently published Monte Carlo simulation data on lysozyme and related
crystal structures. The results show that the presence of multiple connected
nets
has major implications for the growth morphology and explains the different
growth rates as a function of supersaturation of the crystal faces.