Enzyme crystals growth

At the present time it is not possible to assign a precise function for any alkaline phosphatase. Undoubtedly bone phosphatase is concerned in ossification and two alternative roles have been proposed (1) Precipitation of calcium phosphate is induced by the localized production of high concentrations of Pi owing to phosphatase activity (33) (2) the enzyme permits crystal growth at nucleation sites in the matrix by ensuring the removal and continued absence of PPi which is known to be a crystal poison (60). Other factors must be involved (35) because tissues with high concentrations of alkaline phosphatase (e.g., gut, kidney, and... 

The indirect chemical evidence described above was masterfully interpreted to suggest the dithiolene chelate and substituents of molybdopterin. Nevertheless, it was protein crystallography that provided definitive proof of the intact dithiolene chelate in the molybdenum and tungsten enzymes. Improvements both in protein crystal growth, diffraction data collection, and in computation... 

Polynuclear complexes lie at the core of many biomolecules, including metalloproteins such as ferritin and enzymes such as nitrogenase. Recent work has suggested that they are present in natural waters (e.g., Rozan et al. 2000) and serve as nuclei for crystal growth. 

Of key importance, as noted earlier, plaque is likely to be a zone relatively free of crystal growth inhibitors. This is because of the presence of numerous enzymes able to break down both salivary pyrophosphate and salivary proteins. Watanabe et al. [123] observed a significant correlation between supra-gingival calculus scores and protein activity in saliva. They demonstrated that the protease originated in plaque bacteria [124, 125] and that the enzyme was able to nullify the inhibiting effect of salivary protein on calcium phosphate precipitation in vitro [125],... 

L. Rodriguez-Lorenzo, R. de la Rica, R.A. Alvarez-Puebla, E.M. Eiz-Marzan, M.M. Stevens, Plasmonic nanosensors with inverse sensitivity by means of enzyme-guided crystal growth. Nature Mat. 11, 604 (2012)... 

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