Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Determining the Ice-binding Planes of Antifreeze Proteins by Fluorescence-based Ice Plane Affinity
Published on: January 15, 2014
Ice nucleation in emulsified aqueous solutions of antifreeze protein type III and poly(vinyl alcohol)
Takaaki Inada1, Toshie Koyama, Fumitoshi Goto
1National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Namiki 1-2-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8564, Japan. t-inada@aist.go.jp
Abstract:
Antifreeze protein (AFP) III and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) are known as anti-ice nucleating agents (anti-INAs), which inhibit heterogeneous ice nucleation. However, the effectiveness of these anti-INAs in inhibiting ice nucleation in water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions, in which homogeneous ice nucleation can be experimentally simulated, is unclear. In this study, the ice nucleation temperature in emulsified solutions of AFP III, PVA, and other nonanti-INA polymers was measured, and then the nucleation rate was analyzed based on classical nucleation theory. Results showed that ice nucleation was surface-initiated and, except for PVA solutions, probably caused heterogeneously by the emulsifier, SPAN 65, at the droplet surfaces. In this nucleation mode, AFP III had no significant effect on the ice nucleation rate. In contrast, PVA exhibited ice-nucleating activity only at the droplet surfaces, suggesting that the nucleation is due to the interaction between PVA and SPAN 65.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Colloidal precipitates
Recrystallization: Solid–Solution Equilibria
Cryo-electron Microscopy
Freezing Point Depression and Boiling Point Elevation
The boiling point of a liquid is the temperature at which its vapor pressure is equal to ambient atmospheric pressure. Since the vapor pressure of a solution is lowered due to the presence of nonvolatile solutes, it stands to reason that the solution’s boiling point will subsequently be increased. Vapor pressure increases with temperature, and so a solution will require a higher temperature than will pure solvent to achieve any given vapor pressure, including one...
The Colloidal State

