Growth rate measurements of lysozyme crystals under microgravity conditions by laser interferometry.

The growth rate vs. supersaturation of a lysozyme crystal was successfully measured in situ together with the crystal surface observation and the concentration measurements onboard the International Space Station. A Michelson-type interferometer and a Mach-Zehnder interferometer were, respectively, employed for real-time growth rate measurements and concentration field measurements. The hardware development, sample preparation, operation, and analysis methods are described.