Morphological Population Balance Model for Studying the Effects of Seed Loading and Cooling Rates on Crystal Size and Shape Distribution in Protein Crystallisation

摘要

A morphological population balance model is applied to crystallisation of hen-egg whiternlysozyme (HEWL) for investigating the effects of seed loading and cooling rate onrnsupersaturation, crystal size and shape distribution. Growth rates of individual faces andrnfinal crystal size and shape distribution were examined under varied seeding andrncooling conditions. It was found that for growth only crystallisation, desired crystal sizernand shape can be obtained by coordinative manipulation of the seed loading and coolingrnrate: low seed loading and high cooling rate lead to large crystals of low aspect ratio,rnbut care has to be taken to avoid nucleation and major shape change such as widthrnbecoming larger than the length. The interesting results not only demonstrate therneffectiveness of morphological population balance simulation for protein crystallisationrnbut also provide useful knowledge for process optimization and control.