Ethylammonium nitrate: a protein crystallization reagent.

Ethylammonium nitrate (EAN) is a liquid organic salt that has many potential applications in protein chemistry. Because this solvent has hydrophobic and ionic character as well as the ability to hydrogen bond, it is especially well suited for broad use in protein crystallography. For example, EAN may be used as an additive, a detergent, a precipitating agent or to deliver ligands into protein crystals. A discussion of the crystallization of lysozyme using EAN as a precipitating agent is given here.