The effect of mineral substrates on the crystallization of lysozyme

The effects of exogenous mineral substrates on the induction time for nucleation, and on the number, morphology and purity of protein crystals were investigated in a series of experiments using chicken egg-white lysozyme (CEWL) as a model protein. CEWL was crystallized using the vapor-diffusion technique in the absence of substrates (control) and in the presence of mineral substrates exhibiting various degrees of crystalline lattice match to CEWL (experiments). Results indicate that mineral substrates with a close lattice match to CEWL had a greater influence on the induction time for nucleation and crystal properties. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.