Interaction of antifreeze proteins with hydrocarbon hydrates

Recombinant antifreeze proteins (AFPs), representing a range of activities with respect to ice growth inhibition, were investigated for their abilities to control the crystal formation and growth of hydrocarbon hydrates. Three different AFPs were compared with two synthetic commercial inhibitors, poly-N-vinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and HIW85281, by using multiple approaches, which included gas uptake, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) temperature ramping, and DSC isothermal observations. A new method to assess the induction period before heterogeneous nucleation and subsequent hydrate crystal growth was developed and involved the dispersal of water in the pore space of silica gel beads. Although hydrate nucleation is a complex phenomenon, we have shown that it can now be carefully quantified. The presence of AFPs delayed crystallization events and showed hydrate growth inhibition that was superior to that of one of the benchmark commercial inhibitors, PVP. Nucleation and growth inhibition were shown to be independent processes, which indicates a difference in the mechanisms required for these two inhibitory actions. In addition, there was no apparent correlation between the assayed activities of the three AFPs toward hexagonal ice and the cubic structure II (sII) hydrate, which suggests that there are distinctive differences in the protein interactions with the two crystal surfaces.