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Published on: August 14, 2018
Spatial control of crystal nucleation in agarose gel
Carla Duffus1, Philip J Camp, Andrew J Alexander
1School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, The King's Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JJ, UK.
Abstract:
Spatial and temporal control of crystal nucleation is demonstrated by nonphotochemical laser-induced nucleation of an aqueous agarose gel prepared with supersaturated potassium chloride. The location of nucleation was controlled by means of an optical mask; crystals were only observed in the area exposed to near-infrared laser radiation. The dependence of nucleation on laser power was measured, and the results suggest that the agarose gel reduces the effective supersaturation of the aqueous potassium chloride.
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