Development and application of the magnetic field device for single crystal growth

The three-dimensional structure of the proteins, including the location of the hydrogen atoms can be analyzed by using neutron diffraction. In order to grow single crystals for neutron diffraction experiments, we developed a simple magnetic field device with the commercial magnets and succeeded in growing hen egg-white lysozyme single crystals of more than 1 in volume using this device. The crystals grown with a magnetic field were larger and had perfect transparency, whereas the crystals grown without a magnetic field had micro-cracks. The result of the X-ray measurement showed a good resolution and small mosaicity for the crystals grown in the presence of a magnetic field.