| Crystal Research and Technology |
Based on experimentally motivated assumptions, a new kinetic model of protein crystallization by mass-convection than by bulk diffusion is proposed. It is assumed that the charged-mass conservation law is being fulfilled, and that the attractive potential is of (screened) electrostatic nature. The role of the double-layer surrounding the crystal under growth is indicated, and the thermodynamic conditions responsible for the association of protein macroions to a growing and charged nucleus are specified. Moreover, by replacing the dielectric constant of the solution by the dielectric constant of the solvent (water) times a Debye-Hückel exponential term, it is possible to take into account the influence of water on the behavior of the system, potentially with hydrophobic effects involved. The study is, in fact, based on a combined concept in which the Burton-Cabrera-Frank and Mullins-Sekerka-Langer-Chernov mechanisms supplement each other. The role of fluctuations in the studied process is also examined.
Keywords: protein crystals, mass-convection, electrolytes, growth kinetics, double-layer
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