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Similarly, solvation — roughly the oppo-


site to crystallization — is a phenomenon in


which the enthalpic advantage of retaining


solvent in a crystal outweighs the entropic


advantage of expelling it into the bulk sol-


vent¹⁴. An understanding of crystallization is


importantforthedevelopmentofsupramole-


cular chemistry and crystal engineering; both


experimental and computational approaches


(molecular dynamics) are currently being


used to tackle this exciting problem.


A study of the protein apoferritin recently


provided the first ever observations of


protein nucleation¹⁵. By using atomic force


microscopy, tiny clusters of apoferritin can


be watched as they slowly grow or dissolve.


Protein crystallization is more an art than a


science, yet it is vital for determining protein


structure.