Patent ID: 7819973

Claim:
An apparatus for crystal growth of biomacromolecules, comprising: a first compartment having a volume for accommodating a first fluid containing a solvent and a biomacromolecule to be crystallized, a second compartment for accommodating a second fluid containing a solvent and a precipitant; a biomacromolecule concentration adjuster, a first portion of which separates the first and second compartments and is permeable to the solvents and the participant, but not the biomacromolecule, thereby allowing selective fluid communication between the first fluid and the second fluid across the first portion, and a second portion of which is movable within the first compartment between a first position and a second position to exert a pressure on the first fluid, wherein, when the second portion is in the first position, a higher pressure is exerted on the first fluid, the solvent and the precipitant in the first fluid diffuse into the second fluid and the volume of the first compartment decreases, whereupon a concentration of the biomacromolecule in the first compartment increases, and when the second portion is in the second position, a lower pressure is exerted on the first fluid, the solvent and the precipitant in the second fluid flow into the first fluid and the volume of the first compartment increases, whereupon the concentration of the biomacromolecule in the first compartment decreases; and a detector to detect a crystal growth of the biomacromolecule in the first fluid.