Berkeley lab scientists reveal path to protein crystallization (w/ Video)
Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - 15:21
in Physics & Chemistry
(PhysOrg.com) -- Growth of two-dimensional S-layer crystals on supported lipid bilayers observed in solution using in situ atomic force microscopy. This movie shows proteins sticking onto the supported lipid bilayer, forming a mobile phase that condenses into amorphous clusters, and undergoing a phase transition to crystalline clusters composed of 2 to 15 tetramers. These initial clusters then enter a growth phase in which new tetramers form exclusively at unoccupied lattice sites along the cluster edges.