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Updated: May 21, 2026

Determining the Ice-binding Planes of Antifreeze Proteins by Fluorescence-based Ice Plane Affinity
Published on: January 15, 2014
Local ice melting by an antifreeze protein
Matteo Calvaresi1, Siegfried Höfinger, Francesco Zerbetto
1Dipartimento di Chimica G. Ciamician, Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy. matteo.calvaresi@studio.unibo.it
Abstract:
Antifreeze proteins, AFP, impede freezing of bodily fluids and damaging of cellular tissues by low temperatures. Adsorption-inhibition mechanisms have been developed to explain their functioning. Using in silico Molecular Dynamics, we show that type I AFP can also induce melting of the local ice surface. Simulations of antifreeze-positive and antifreeze-negative mutants show a clear correlation between melting induction and antifreeze activity. The presence of local melting adds a function to type I AFPs that is unique to these proteins. It may also explain some apparently conflicting experimental results where binding to ice appears both quasipermanent and reversible.
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