Elastic constants in orthorhombic hen egg-white lysozyme crystals

N. Kitajima, S. Tsukashima, D. Fujii, M. Tachibana, H. Koizumi, K. Wako, K. Kojima

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The ultrasonic sound velocities of cross-linked orthorhombic hen egg-white lysozyme (HEWL) crystals, including a large amount of water in the crystal, were measured using an ultrasonic pulse-echo method. As a result, seven elastic constants of orthorhombic crystals were observed to be C11 = 5.24 GPa, C22 = 4.87 GPa, C12 = 4.02 GPa, C33 = 5.23 GPa, C44 = 0.30 GPa, C55 = 0.40 GPa, and C66 = 0.43 GPa, respectively. However, C13 and C23 could not be observed because the suitable crystal planes could not be cut from bulk crystals. We conclude that the observed elastic constants of the cross-linked crystals are coincident with those of the intrinsic crystals without cross-linking. Moreover, the characteristics of the elastic constants in orthorhombic HEWL crystals are due to the fact that the shear elastic constants, C44, C55, and C66, are softer than in tetragonal crystals. That is, the shear components, C44, C55, and C66, are one half of those of the tetragonal crystals.

Original languageEnglish
Article number012714
JournalPhysical Review E - Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
Volume89
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014 Jan 21

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
  • Statistics and Probability
  • Condensed Matter Physics

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