A first attempt to enhance the 2-D single crystal growth of a protein at an air/water interface from hydrodynamics.

Abstract An alternative technique to grow a 2-D crystal of protein at a functionalized air/water interface is proposed. The first part of this paper briefly reviews 2-D crystal growth at a fluid interface and deals with our first experiments on streptavidin whose 2-D (poly)crystallization ability is well known. In the experiments, the involved air/water interface is functionalized with a mixed lipidic monolayer made of DOPC and biotinylated lipids. The second part of the paper relates to an alternative strategy we propose in order to enhance the 2-D single-crystal growth of a protein at a liquid interface. The idea is to get benefit from an axisymmetric swirling flow driven in a water sub-phase confined within an annular channel. The swirl is expected to control the distribution of the proteins at the air/water interface and to promote the growth of a 2-D single crystal from the smallest to the largest radii (radial segregation). An analytical modelling based on a low Reynolds number asymptotic development demonstrates how two control parameters, the mean channel curvature and the Reynolds number of the shear flow, can be helpful in tuning the magnitude of the swirl and therefore the crystal growth.