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Science 10 June 2005:
Vol. 308. no. 5728, pp. 1566 - 1567
DOI: 10.1126/science.1111099
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Perspectives

Also see the archival list of Science's Enhanced Perspectives and Policy Forums

MATERIALS SCIENCE:
Enhanced: Snapshots of Crystal Growth

Michael D. Ward

In recent years, atomic force microscopy has provided important insights into how materials crystallize. The method allows measurements to be performed under actual crystallization conditions and is particularly well suited to small-molecule or protein crystals. In his Perspective, Ward reviews this work, which has provided support for the terrace-ledge-kink model of crystallization and promises insights into the influence of experimental condition on crystallization at the near-molecular level. A recent extension of the method enables spatial control of crystal nucleation and regulation of the crystal growth rate and may allow crystallization conditions to be optimized.

The author is in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. E-mail: wardx004{at}umn.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Free transverse vibrations of nano-to-micron scale beams.
M. Xu (2006)
Proc R Soc A 462, 2977-2995
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