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Related Concept Videos

Crystal Growth: Principles of Crystallization01:25

Crystal Growth: Principles of Crystallization

Crystallization is a phase transformation process in which crystals are precipitated from a supersaturated solution or formed from other sources. During crystallization, atoms or molecules arrange themselves into a well-defined, rigid crystal lattice to minimize energy.
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...
Formation of Intermediate Filaments00:57

Formation of Intermediate Filaments

Intermediate filaments are cytoskeletal proteins with higher tensile strength and flexibility than microfilaments and microtubules. Unlike the other two cytoskeletal proteins, intermediate filament formation lacks the enzymatic activity to hydrolyze nucleotides like ATP and GTP to generate energy for polymerization. Therefore, the formation of intermediate filaments is multistep self-assembly. The involvement of any accessory proteins in intermediate filament formation has not yet been reported.
SN1 Reaction: Mechanism02:25

SN1 Reaction: Mechanism

Kinetic studies of ionization of a tertiary halide in a protic solvent suggest that only the substrate participates in the rate-determining step (slow step). The nucleophile is involved only after the slowest step. The SN1 reaction takes place in a multiple-step mechanism. 
Firstly, the haloalkane ionizes to generate a carbocation intermediate and a halide ion. This heterolytic cleavage is highly endothermic with large activation energy. The ionization of the substrate, facilitated by a polar...
Disassembly of Intermediate Filaments01:35

Disassembly of Intermediate Filaments

Intermediate filaments (IFs) do not undergo spontaneous disassembly. Enzymes, kinases, and phosphatases add and remove phosphates from specific sites to regulate their disassembly. The IF concentration in the cytoplasm also regulates the disassembly. If the concentration crosses a threshold, it activates the protein kinases in the vicinity, allowing the phosphorylation of IFs.
Keratin proteins, found at the cell periphery near cell junctions, undergo a cycle of assembly and disassembly. In Type...
SN2 Reaction: Kinetics02:14

SN2 Reaction: Kinetics

Kinetic Studies and Significance
In a chemical reaction, a relationship exists between the concentration of reactants and the rate at which the reaction proceeds. The study to measure this relationship is known as the kinetics of a chemical reaction. Kinetic studies are used to deduce the rate law of a chemical reaction, which provides information about the species involved during the transition state of the rate-determining step. Thus, kinetic studies help to derive the mechanism of a reaction.
Radical Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism01:09

Radical Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism

The radical chain-growth polymerization mechanism consists of three steps: initiation, propagation, and termination of polymerization. The polymerization initiates when a free radical generated from the radical initiator adds to the unsaturated bond in the monomer. The unpaired electron of the free radical and one π electron in the unsaturated bond creates a σ bond between the free radical and the monomer. As a result, the other π electron in the unsaturated bond converts this species into the...

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Optimizing the Growth of Endothiapepsin Crystals for Serial Crystallography Experiments
09:52

Optimizing the Growth of Endothiapepsin Crystals for Serial Crystallography Experiments

Published on: February 4, 2021

Nucleation via an unstable intermediate phase.

Richard P Sear1

  • 1Department of Physics, University of Surrey Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, United Kingdom. r.sear@surrey.ac.uk

The Journal of Chemical Physics
|August 28, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Phase transitions surprisingly accelerate when an intermediate liquid phase is slightly unstable. This phenomenon, observed in crystallization, allows faster nucleation rates by forming microscopic intermediate phases before bulk stability.

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Last Updated: Jun 20, 2026

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Area of Science:

  • Physical Chemistry
  • Materials Science
  • Chemical Engineering

Background:

  • Crystallization often proceeds through intermediate liquid or concentrated solution phases.
  • Intermediate phases can dramatically accelerate phase transition kinetics, as seen in water vapor to ice transitions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of intermediate phases in accelerating nucleation kinetics.
  • To understand the conditions under which intermediate phase instability enhances phase transitions.

Main Methods:

  • Exact computer simulations of a simple lattice model were employed.
  • The study analyzed nucleation rates and the behavior of intermediate phases.

Main Results:

  • Nucleation rates are fastest when the intermediate phase is slightly unstable in bulk.
  • Microscopic amounts of the intermediate phase can form at concave surfaces before bulk stability.
  • This allows nucleation to occur effectively within the intermediate phase prior to its bulk stability.

Conclusions:

  • The study reveals a counterintuitive mechanism where intermediate phase instability enhances nucleation.
  • This finding has implications for understanding and controlling phase transitions in various systems.
  • The research highlights the importance of considering metastable intermediate phases in crystallization processes.