Simple models for charge and salt effects in protein crystallisation

摘要

A simple extension of existing models for protein crystallisation isdescribed, in which salt ions and charge neutrality are explicitlyincorporated. This provides a straightforward explanation for the shape ofprotein crystallisation boundaries, the associated scaling properties seen forlysozyme, and can also explain much of the salt dependence of the second virialcoefficient. The analysis has wider implications for the use of pair potentialsto understand protein crystallisation.