Magnetic effects of thaumatin crystals; observation of crystal growth by magneto-Archimedes levitation and magnetic orientation.

We examined the magnetic effect of thaumatin crystals, which are a well known model of protein crystals but which have hardly been studied for that effect. We succeeded in crystallizing thaumatin by magnetic levitation based on the magneto-Archimedes effect by the addition of the paramagnetic substa...

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Main Authors: Syou Maki, Masao Fujiwara, Yoshihisa Fujiwara, Makoto Nakabayashi, Shotaro Morimoto, Seiichi Tanaka, Seiji Fujiwara, Masayuki Hagiwara, Kohji Inaka
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315335
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author Syou Maki
Masao Fujiwara
Yoshihisa Fujiwara
Makoto Nakabayashi
Shotaro Morimoto
Seiichi Tanaka
Seiji Fujiwara
Masayuki Hagiwara
Kohji Inaka
author_facet Syou Maki
Masao Fujiwara
Yoshihisa Fujiwara
Makoto Nakabayashi
Shotaro Morimoto
Seiichi Tanaka
Seiji Fujiwara
Masayuki Hagiwara
Kohji Inaka
author_sort Syou Maki
collection DOAJ
description We examined the magnetic effect of thaumatin crystals, which are a well known model of protein crystals but which have hardly been studied for that effect. We succeeded in crystallizing thaumatin by magnetic levitation based on the magneto-Archimedes effect by the addition of the paramagnetic substance gadolinium chloride. We also carried out a chronological observation of the levitation process in a superconducting magnet, and visualized the magnetic orientation of the crystals by applying a magnetic field along the horizontal direction. In another major result, we carried out a diffraction experiment and performed a structural analysis of the crystals. We noticed from the results that no electron density from the gadolinium ion could be observed in the crystals. This suggests the possibility that the paramagnetic substance of the aqueous precipitant solution helps only to promote the crystals' levitation, and has little effect on thaumatin crystallization.
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publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
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spelling doaj-art-4b9b2d7f5a59490a89b3ef890f2514a82025-08-20T02:56:03ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01202e031533510.1371/journal.pone.0315335Magnetic effects of thaumatin crystals; observation of crystal growth by magneto-Archimedes levitation and magnetic orientation.Syou MakiMasao FujiwaraYoshihisa FujiwaraMakoto NakabayashiShotaro MorimotoSeiichi TanakaSeiji FujiwaraMasayuki HagiwaraKohji InakaWe examined the magnetic effect of thaumatin crystals, which are a well known model of protein crystals but which have hardly been studied for that effect. We succeeded in crystallizing thaumatin by magnetic levitation based on the magneto-Archimedes effect by the addition of the paramagnetic substance gadolinium chloride. We also carried out a chronological observation of the levitation process in a superconducting magnet, and visualized the magnetic orientation of the crystals by applying a magnetic field along the horizontal direction. In another major result, we carried out a diffraction experiment and performed a structural analysis of the crystals. We noticed from the results that no electron density from the gadolinium ion could be observed in the crystals. This suggests the possibility that the paramagnetic substance of the aqueous precipitant solution helps only to promote the crystals' levitation, and has little effect on thaumatin crystallization.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315335
spellingShingle Syou Maki
Masao Fujiwara
Yoshihisa Fujiwara
Makoto Nakabayashi
Shotaro Morimoto
Seiichi Tanaka
Seiji Fujiwara
Masayuki Hagiwara
Kohji Inaka
Magnetic effects of thaumatin crystals; observation of crystal growth by magneto-Archimedes levitation and magnetic orientation.
PLoS ONE
title Magnetic effects of thaumatin crystals; observation of crystal growth by magneto-Archimedes levitation and magnetic orientation.
title_full Magnetic effects of thaumatin crystals; observation of crystal growth by magneto-Archimedes levitation and magnetic orientation.
title_fullStr Magnetic effects of thaumatin crystals; observation of crystal growth by magneto-Archimedes levitation and magnetic orientation.
title_full_unstemmed Magnetic effects of thaumatin crystals; observation of crystal growth by magneto-Archimedes levitation and magnetic orientation.
title_short Magnetic effects of thaumatin crystals; observation of crystal growth by magneto-Archimedes levitation and magnetic orientation.
title_sort magnetic effects of thaumatin crystals observation of crystal growth by magneto archimedes levitation and magnetic orientation
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315335
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