MAGNETIC ORIENTATION AS A TOOL TO STUDY THE INITIAL-STAGE OF CRYSTALLIZATION OF LYSOZYME

The tetragonal crystals of hen egg-white lysozyme align their c-axis i n the direction of a magnetic field. By applying the magnetic field of 1.6 T only over some period during the whole crystallization process, it was possible to know when the crystals sedimented. It was found th at crystals grew in solution, and started to sediment on reaching a cr itical size. We evaluated the critical size to be 1-2 mu m by changing the magnetic field strength (0.1-1.2 T) and analyzing the relation be tween the field strength and the proportion of magnetic orientation.