Issue 4, 2011

Monosodium urate monohydratecrystallization

Abstract

The crystallization of monosodium urate monohydrate (MSU) in the synovial fluid has long been associated with the joint disease gout, which is characterized by recurring attacks of pain and inflammation within the joints. In this work, in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) on single crystal (010) MSU surfaces and dynamic light scattering were used complementarily to investigate the growth of MSU in 2–10 mM urate solutions under model physiological conditions (37 °C, pH = 7.4, 150 mM NaCl). In this solution regime, crystal growth rates normal to the (010) surface followed the square of supersaturation, which is consistent with a two-dimensional island nucleation and spread mechanism. Islands observed under in situ AFM imaging conditions had sizes consistent with dynamic light scattering measurements but exhibited unique faceting not typically observed in fully developed crystals or predicted by previous theoretical work. Preferred alignment of the islands' long axis and the underlying ±c axis of the MSU (010) was observed, as was island overgrowth over time.

Graphical abstract: Monosodium urate monohydrate crystallization

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Oct 2010
Accepted
08 Dec 2010
First published
18 Jan 2011

CrystEngComm, 2011,13, 1111-1117

Monosodium urate monohydrate crystallization

C. M. Perrin, M. A. Dobish, E. Van Keuren and J. A. Swift, CrystEngComm, 2011, 13, 1111 DOI: 10.1039/C0CE00737D

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements