Soaking: the effect of osmotic shock on tetragonal lysozyme crystals

The effect of osmotic shock on tetragonal lysozyme crystals is experimentally demonstrated. The network of channels and the charge of the crystal are responsible for a Gibbs-Donnan effect. This plays a critical role in the exchange of water, which leads to the formation of cracks.

Granada Crystallisation Box: a new device for protein crystallisation by counter-diffusion techniques

Granada Crystallisation Box (GCB) is a new crystallisation device designed to perform counter-diffusion experiments. Here we describe the device and its use for protein crystallisation purposes. GCB allows one to explore and exploit the coupling between crystallisation and diffusion. The role of viscous fluids, gels and/or microgravity can be enhanced by using capillary volumes, creating a perfect diffusive mass transport scenario. The use of capillaries also reduces the consumption of macromolecules and avoids the handling of crystals for X-ray diffraction data collection.