Metastability and supersaturation limit for lysozyme crystallization

We investigate the ionic strength and temperature dependence of metastability with respect to crystallization in lysozyme solution. The supersaturation limit c* shows a simple scaling relation with salt concentration and, together with the equilibrium solubility c(sat), approximately factorizes into two terms, respectively accounting for electrostatic and temperature effects. The supersaturation ratio S = c*/c(sat) monotonically increases with the addition of salt. While the dependence of solution properties on the ionic strength is consistent with a recent model by Sear and Warren, temperature effects highlight the importance of hydrophobic contributions.