Michelson interferometric studies of protein and virus crystal growth

In situ laser Michelson interferometry was utilized to investigate the growth kinetics and surface morphology in canavalin, thaumatin, and turnip yellow mosaic virus (TYMV) crystallization. Interferometric patterns and kinetic measurements from growing macromolecular crystals as small as 20 μm were obtained. This study shows that for the crystallization of canavalin, dislocations are the sources of growth steps on the surfaces of growing...