Premium
How do crystal lattice contacts reveal protein crystallization mechanism?
Author(s) -
Nanev Christo N.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
crystal research and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.377
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1521-4079
pISSN - 0232-1300
DOI - 10.1002/crat.200800214
Subject(s) - crystallization , van der waals force , protein crystallization , crystal structure , lattice (music) , chemistry , crystal (programming language) , crystallography , chemical physics , molecule , physics , computer science , organic chemistry , programming language , acoustics
The nature of crystal lattice contacts is discussed because they reflect the selection of the most appropriate (for the given set of conditions) contact patches on the surface of protein molecules. The conclusion is that, along with chemical composition, the protein structure at the crystal lattice contacts is the key to crystallization behavior. The reason is that most stable are conformations, which do not only maximize the number of the bonds but simultaneously minimize van der Waals repulsions. A plausible explanation of the crystallization slot that exists for proteins is given on this basis. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)