Janus effect of antifreeze proteins on ice nucleation

Significance In the past decades, a vast body of experimental and theoretical work has been undertaken to investigate the molecular level mechanism underlying heterogeneous ice nucleation. However, understanding of heterogeneous ice nucleation is still far from satisfactory. Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are endowed with the unique ability to control freezing. Our research reveals the exact effect of AFPs on ice nucleation at the molecular level, which correlates ice nucleation with the surface chemistry and topography of different faces of AFPs. We also emphasize a critical role for the non–ice-binding face of AFPs and discover that the proper function of AFPs is realized only by synergistic effects of the non–ice-binding face and the ice-binding face. The mechanism of ice nucleation at the molecular level remains largely unknown. Nature endows antifreeze proteins (AFPs) with the unique capability of controlling ice formation. However, the effect of AFPs on ice nucleation has been under debate. Here we report the observation of both depression and promotion effects of AFPs on ice nucleation via selectively binding the ice-binding face (IBF) and the non–ice-binding face (NIBF) of AFPs to solid substrates. Freezing temperature and delay time assays show that ice nucleation is depressed with the NIBF exposed to liquid water, whereas ice nucleation is facilitated with the IBF exposed to liquid water. The generality of this Janus effect is verified by investigating three representative AFPs. Molecular dynamics simulation analysis shows that the Janus effect can be established by the distinct structures of the hydration layer around IBF and NIBF. Our work greatly enhances the understanding of the mechanism of AFPs at the molecular level and brings insights to the fundamentals of heterogeneous ice nucleation.

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