SMALL-ANGLE NEUTRON-SCATTERING FROM LYSOZYME IN UNSATURATED SOLUTIONS, TO CHARACTERIZE THE PRECRYSTALLIZATION PROCESS

The small angle neutron scattering (SANS) method was used to study the crystallization process of lysozyme from the microscopic molecular level. SANS was observed from unsaturated solutions of lysozyme in D2O. By adding NaCl, lysozyme molecules start to aggregate, and even when the NaCl concentration is increased to supersaturation, SANS spectra show aggregation in the initial stage. The difference of the aggregation states in the unsaturated or supersaturated solutions is whether aggregation is in the equilibrium or in the non-equilibrium state. SANS is very feasible for protein crystallization research.