INTRINSIC KINETICS FLUCTUATIONS AS CAUSE OF GROWTH INHOMOGENEITY IN PROTEIN CRYSTALS

Intrinsic kinetics instabilities in the form of growth step bunching d uring the crystallization of the protein lysozyme from solution were c haracterized by in situ high-resolution optical interferometry. Compos itional variations (striations) in the crystal, which potentially decr ease its utility, e.g., for molecular structure studies by diffraction methods, were visualized by polarized light reflection microscopy. A spatiotemporal correlation was established between the sequence of mov ing step bunches and the; striations.