ABSTRACT
Containerless processing of materials is considered beneficial for obtaining high quality products due to the elimination of the detrimental effects coming from the contact with container walls. Many containerless processing methods are realized by levitation techniques. This paper describes a containerless levitation setup that utilized the magnetization force generated in a gradient magnetic field. It comprises a levitation unit, a temperature control unit, and a real-time observation unit. Known volume of liquid diamagnetic samples can be levitated in the levitation chamber, the temperature of which is controlled using the temperature control unit. The evolution of the levitated sample is observed in real time using the observation unit. With this setup, containerless processing of liquid such as crystal growth from solution can be realized in a well-controlled manner. Since the levitation is achieved using a superconducting magnet, experiments requiring long duration time such as protein crystallization and simulation of space environment for living system can be easily succeeded.
Subject(s)
Electromagnetic Phenomena , Equipment Design/instrumentation , Weightlessness , Crystallization , Muramidase/chemistry , Temperature , Water/chemistryABSTRACT
Probable reasons why some protein crystals grown in a magnet exhibited better quality than control are discussed as follows. (1). Sedimenting three-dimensional nuclei are able to have the same orientation as the underlying, mother crystal into which the nuclei merge. (2). Protein solution may become more viscous, leading to reduction of convection. (3). If an upward force is generated by use of an inhomogeneous magnetic field, the effects of the density differences can be made less significant, causing the reduction of natural convection and the retardation of crystal sedimentation.
