Diffusion of lysozyme in gels and liquids: A general approach for the determination of diffusion coefficients using holographic laser interferometry

A study on diffusion measurements of the protein lysozyme in liquids and agarose gels, at different pH and ionic strengths, has been performed using holographic laser interferometry. The measurements showed that the diffusive flux was very dependent on pH and ionic strength when the protein was not at its isoelectric point or when the charge of the lysozyme molecules was not screened by ions in the solution. Evaluation of the experimental data with Fick’s law, resulted in diffusion coefficients for lysozyme that are strongly dependent on pH and ionic strength. Evaluation of the experimental data using a more general transport model, based on chemical potential gradients instead of concentration gradients resulted in lysozyme diffusion coefficients that are independent of pH and ionic strength. The chemical potential was estimated by using the Poisson–Boltzmann equation.