Antifreeze proteins: an unusual receptor-ligand interaction
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Updated: Oct 2, 2026

Determining the Ice-binding Planes of Antifreeze Proteins by Fluorescence-based Ice Plane Affinity
Published on: January 15, 2014
1Department of Biochemistry, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6.
Abstract:
Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) help organisms to survive below 0 degrees C by inhibiting ice growth. Although AFPs are structurally diverse, they typically present a large proportion of their surface area for binding to ice. Whereas earlier proposed binding mechanisms relied almost entirely on a hydrogen bond match between the AFP and ice, it now seems probable that van der Waals and hydrophobic interactions make a significant contribution to the enthalpy of adsorption. These interactions require intimate surface-surface complementarity between the receptor (AFP) and its ligand (ice).
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