INVESTIGATION OF NUCLEATING LYSOZYME SOLUTIONS

This laboratory has explored the potential of a combination of three a nalytical techniques to study the nucleation of chicken egg-white lyso zyme. Collisional quenching of the fluorescent molecule SPQ [6-methoxy -N-(3-sulfopropyl)quinolinium] by chloride ions was used to determine the binding of the crystallizing agent to the protein at equilibrium a nd kinetically. Calorimetric measurements show that this binding gener ates an exothermic peak larger than the energy released during the ear ly stages of nucleation. Light scattering intensity measurements were used to follow the aggregation kinetics.