Protein Crystallization Induced by a Localized Voltage

Abstract

In this paper, we present a new experimental setup for in situ investigation of the effect of a localized voltage on the nucleation and growth of proteins in the metastable zone. Our setup uses a crystallization cell in which one of the electrodes is sharp; because of the nanometer size of the tip, large electric fields, a large field gradient, and a high current density inside the solution are encountered near the tip, and depending on its polarity, we expect nucleation near the tip. Preliminary results indicate that this setup takes us closer to controlling the nucleation frequency and nucleation location. In this study, we address the unpredictability of the location of the critical nucleus. We expect that with the control of this location, we will be able to better understand the critical nuclei formation.