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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Optimizing the Growth of Endothiapepsin Crystals for Serial Crystallography Experiments

Optimizing the Growth of Endothiapepsin Crystals for Serial Crystallography Experiments

Published on: February 4, 2021

Nucleation: what happens at the initial stage?

Tian Hui Zhang¹, Xiang Yang Liu

¹Van't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)

|January 10, 2009

Summary

Crystal nuclei initially form as liquid-like structures, transitioning to crystal-like as they grow. This gradual evolution lowers the nucleation barrier, aiding crystal formation. Keywords: crystal nuclei, nucleation barrier, supersaturation.

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Chemical Engineering
Physical Chemistry

Background:

Understanding the initial stages of crystallization is crucial for controlling material properties.
The structure of early crystal nuclei and its dependence on environmental conditions remain areas of active research.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the initial structure of crystal nuclei and its evolution during growth.
To determine how supersaturation influences the nucleation pathway and barrier.

Main Methods:

Computational simulations were employed to model crystal nucleation under varying supersaturation levels.
Analysis focused on the structural evolution of nascent nuclei from liquid-like to crystal-like states.

Main Results:

Crystal nuclei exhibit a supersaturation-dependent initial structure.
At low supersaturation, nuclei begin as liquid-like and gradually transition to a crystal-like structure with increasing size.
This gradual transition significantly reduces the nucleation barrier (DeltaG*) compared to direct formation of crystal-like clusters.

Conclusions:

The findings reveal a novel, size- and supersaturation-dependent pathway for crystal nucleation.
This mechanism provides a more energetically favorable route for crystal formation, particularly under conditions of low supersaturation.
The study offers insights into controlling crystallization processes in various applications.