Exploring the Pattern Formation of Lysozyme Drying Droplets in Phosphate Buffer Saline Solution

Abstract

The process of drying is a simple physical mechanism that drives a system to relax from one equilibrium point to another. The native states of the constituent particles in the droplets can be linked to the emergent morphological patterns via this drying process. This paper explores the interplay between different initial concentrations of a globular protein lysozyme ($\phi_p$) and the salts ($\phi_s$) in the phosphate buffer saline (PBS). The $\phi_s$ = 0 wt% embodies the lysozyme solution prepared in de-ionized water. The samples at $\phi_s$ = 0.9 wt% display a dark texture in the central region. We examined the drying evolution and dried morphology by extracting the mean gray values (I) and standard deviation (SD). For this, $\phi_p$ was fixed at 9.0 wt%, and only the $\phi_s$ were varied. The I decreases, and the SD increases as the salt crystals start appearing during the drying process. The phase separation of these salts directly maps with this textural evolution and is influenced by the salts' amount in these droplets. The scanning electron microscopic images of the dried films at $\phi_s$ = 0.5 wt% at different $\phi_p$ show that the lysozyme-salt interactions drop off in the ring region. This ring becomes more apparent with the increasing $\phi_p$. Though all the droplets show "coffee-ring" behavior, the leftover lysozyme particles indicated with the mound-like structure diminishes in the salts' presence. The alteration of the crack patterns is also found. Therefore, the chemistry between multiple salts and lysozyme at various initial concentrations reveals that the features are not merely a sum (or average) of individual microscopic actions. It appears to involve both protein-protein and protein-salt interactions partially averaged over one length/time scale that sets the next larger/longer length/time scale in such drying droplets.