Control of Subgrain Formation in Protein Crystals by the Application of an External Electric Field

X-ray diffraction rocking-curve measurements were performed on tetragonal hen egg white (HEW) lysozyme crystals grown with and without the application of an external alternating current (AC) electric field. Analysis of the full width at half-maximum (fwhm) of the rocking curves indicated that misorientation between subgrains, |theta - theta|, and local strain, <epsilon>, in the crystals contributed to the broadening of the experimentally determined rocking curves for the tetragonal HEW lysozyme crystals. In particular, the data suggested that imperfections in tetragonal HEW lysozyme crystals are predominantly caused by misorientation between subgrains. Moreover, it was determined that improvements in the quality of tetragonal HEW lysozyme crystals, as assessed by a decrease in the misorientation between subgrains, can be achieved by imposing a 1 MHz electric field during crystal growth. This paper also discusses the origin of subgrain misorientation in light of the incorporation of impurities into protein crystals.