Influence of dewetting on the crystallization behavior of CuCl₂ in the presence of BSA during evaporation in a Petri dish

Nicolaas Busscher; Paul Doesburg; Gaby Mergardt; Anezka Sokol; Johannes Kahl; Angelika Ploeger

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e01102

Influence of dewetting on the crystallization behavior of CuCl₂ in the presence of BSA during evaporation in a Petri dish

Heliyon. 2019 Jan 4;5(1):e01102. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e01102. eCollection 2019 Jan.

Authors

Nicolaas Busscher¹, Paul Doesburg², Gaby Mergardt¹, Anezka Sokol¹, Johannes Kahl¹, Angelika Ploeger¹

Affiliations

¹ University of Kassel, Department of Organic Food Quality and Food Culture, Nordbahnhofstrasse 1a, D37213 Witzenhausen, Germany.
² Crystal Lab, Kleefseweg 9, NL-6595 NK Ottersum, Netherlands.

Abstract

The overall structure of dihydrate cupric chloride (CuCl₂ * 2H₂O) crystallization patterns in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in a Petri dish is influenced by dewetting. The dewetting behavior, which can be either before or after initial CuCl₂ nucleation, depends on the amount of CuCl₂ and BSA in the Petri dish. We postulate that the concentration and/or temperature gradient area in the dish, which is built up during the evaporation process, coincides with the location where dewetting predominantly starts. This hypothesis could be supported by measurements of the CuCl₂ coverage of the Petri dish. During the evaporation the height of the meniscus at the rim of the Petri dish recedes in favor of the central Petri dish area. This could not be explained by the above mentioned hypothesis.

Keywords: Condensed matter physics; Molecular physics.