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accessComment on the article `Protein crystal lattices are dynamic assemblies: the role of conformational in the protein condensed phase'
aCNRS, CRM2, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, F-54000, France
*Correspondence e-mail: massimo.nespolo@univ-lorraine.fr
Keywords: protein crystals; crystal lattices.
In a recent article by Dimova & Devedjiev (2018![[Dimova, M. & Devedjiev, Y. D. (2018). IUCrJ, 5, 130-140.]](../../../../../../logos/arrows/iucrj_arr.gif "Dimova, M. & Devedjiev, Y. D. (2018). IUCrJ, 5, 130-140.")
), the word `lattice' occurs 32 times, and the term `crystal lattice' 23 times. Actually, none of these occurrences concern the lattice but the structure. The distinction is of paramount importance because a lattice is an abstract mathematical concept that expresses the periodicity of the atomic distribution in the crystal space; the latter is the The confusion between these two fundamental concepts may lead to serious misunderstandings, like the term `polar lattice' (page 136). A lattice being always centrosymmetric (in an odd-dimensional space), it can never be polar, whereas the can. Furthermore, the term `polar lattice' is used to indicate a completely different concept: the ancestor of the (Nespolo & Souvignier, 2010).
References
Dimova, M. & Devedjiev, Y. D. (2018). IUCrJ, 5, 130–140. Web of Science CrossRef CAS IUCr Journals Google Scholar
Nespolo, M. & Souvignier, B. (2010). J. Appl. Cryst. 43, 1144–1149. Web of Science CrossRef CAS IUCr Journals Google Scholar
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