Figure 5
Concentration evolution during a crystallisation experiment in the presence and absence of SDB microspheres.
(a) Schematic illustration of the adsorption and crystallisation processes after adding the SDB microspheres. Adsorption facilitates nucleation on the surface of the microspheres; when the crystals grow to a certain size, the crystals will sediment to the bottom of the solution and continue to grow. (b) Schematic illustration of the change in concentration with time during the crystallisation in the presence and absence of the SDB microspheres. When no microspheres are present, the concentration evolution will follow the dashed blue line; when microspheres are added to the solution, adsorption of the protein molecules will lower the concentration in the solution (the black line) and at the same time, the concentration on the surface of the microspheres will increase (the red line). After nucleation and the initial growth on the surface of the microspheres, the crystals will sediment to the bottom. Thus, the concentration near the crystals will be that at the bottom of the solution (the red line).
