The same antifreeze proteins that keep organisms from freezing in cold environments also can prevent ice from melting at warmer temperatures. Antifreeze proteins are found in insects, fish, bacteria and other organisms that need to survive in cold temperatures. These proteins protect the organisms by arresting the growth of ice crystals in their bodies. The new study not only has implications for understanding this process in nature, but also for understanding the superheating of crystals in technologies that use superconductor materials and nanoparticles.
"During recrystallization, a larger ice crystal grows while a smaller one melts. Antifreeze proteins can help control both of these processes," explained Ido Braslavsky, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at Ohio University who worked on the study with lead author Yeliz Celik, a doctoral student in physics at Ohio University, and Professor Peter Davies of Queen's University in Canada.
