Hollow crystals are common. They arise from fast growth and slow
diffusion. The material adds to the end of the tube before it has a
chance to enter the interior of the tube. Hollow crystals can cause a
problem when freezing because the expansion of the solvent in the
middle of the tube is usually different from the crystalline material.
Hollow crystals are beautiful, but for best chances one should try to
slow the crystal growth by using additives like glycerol.
James
On Jun 2, 2010, at 12:07 PM, Andre Ambrosio wrote:
Dear all,
We have recently obtained crystals from a small protein, and
interestingly, at least for me, they are hollow trigonal rods
(please see pictures attached).
Just out of curiosity, has anybody ever seen such feature for
protein crystals before?
Regards,
-Andre.
<Crystal-01.jpg><Crystal-03.jpg><Crystal-04.jpg>
