Nucleation of protein crystals in pores and their growth
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Nanev, Christo N
Saridakis, Emmanuel
Chayen, Naomi E
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
X-ray diffraction enables determination of biomolecular structure but requires well-diffracting crystals that are notoriously difficult to grow. Porous materials can aid the crystallization of refractory proteins and, since knowledge of the mode of action of such materials may contribute to finding new crystallization inducers, this process has been studied thoroughly. It was established that, even under conditions where heterogeneous nucleation on flat surfaces is absent, a synergistic diffusion-adsorption effect inside a sufficiently narrow pore can increase the protein concentration to a level sufficient for crystal nucleation. The formation of a protein crystal in a pore begins with the assembly of molecules into a crystalline layer of monomolecular thickness, which is stabilized by its cohesion with the pore wall. We highlight thermodynamic considerations that provide an estimate of the importance of the protection due to the pore walls for crystal stability. In addition, molecular-kinetic considerations reveal further details of protein crystal nucleation assisted by porous materials. The observation that protein crystals nucleated by means of porous materials often display improved X-ray diffraction is of practical importance for structural studies. It is hoped that this review will guide scientists in their efforts to grow crystals of target proteins, complementing the usual trial-and-error strategies.
Date Issued
2025-08-01
Date Acceptance
2025-07-21
Citation
Biophysical Reviews, 2025, 17 (4), pp.935-946
ISSN
1867-2450
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Start Page
935
End Page
946
Journal / Book Title
Biophysical Reviews
Volume
17
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2025 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2025-08-07