LMM Biophysics 5

LMM Biophysics 5 (Solution Convection and the Nucleation Precursors in Protein Crystallization)

Solution Convection and the Nucleation Precursors in Protein Crystallization (LMM Biophysics 5) tests whether solution convection – movement of molecules through the fluid – enhances or suppresses formation of the dense liquid clusters from which crystals form. The investigation uses images from the Light Microscopy Module (LMM) to characterize these clusters at different rates of convection in order to identify cluster formation mechanisms. This helps determine why protein crystallization investigations in microgravity often generate unexpectedly low or high numbers of crystals.