Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026

A Package of Established Analytical Tools to Investigate the Solid-State Alteration of Lipid-Based Excipients
Published on: August 9, 2022
Protein phase behavior and crystallization: effect of glycerol
H Sedgwick1, J E Cameron, W C K Poon
1Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA), School of Physics, The University of Edinburgh, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, Scotland.
Abstract:
Glycerol is widely used as an additive to stabilize proteins in aqueous solution. We have studied the effect of up to 40 wt % glycerol on the crystallization of lysozyme from brine. As the glycerol concentration increased, progressively larger amounts of salt were needed to crystallize the protein. Like previous authors, we interpret this as evidence for glycerol changing the interaction between lysozyme molecules. We quantitatively model the interprotein interaction using a Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek potential. We find that the effect of glycerol can be entirely accounted for by the way it modifies the dielectric constant and refractive index of the solvent. Quantifying the interprotein interaction by the second virial coefficient, B(2), we find a universal crystallization boundary for all glycerol concentrations.
Related Concept Videos
Crystal Growth: Principles of Crystallization
Initiating crystallization involves manipulating the concentration of the solute and the temperature of the solution. Since crystal growth occurs when the ratio of concentration and solubility of the solute in the solvent – the...
Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
Phase Diagrams
Phase Transitions
Phase Transitions
Polymer Classification: Crystallinity
Crystalline domains are the regions where polymer chains are aligned in an orderly manner and held together in proximity by intermolecular forces. For example, chains in the crystalline domains of polyethylene and nylon are bound together by van der Waals...

