Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 22, 2026

Identification of Plant Ice-binding Proteins Through Assessment of Ice-recrystallization Inhibition and Isolation Using Ice-affinity Purification
Published on: May 5, 2017
Supercooling, ice nucleation and crystal growth: a systematic study in plant samples
Dimitris Zaragotas1, Nikolaos T Liolios2, Elias Anastassopoulos3
1Department of Forestry and Management of Natural Environment, Technological Educational Institute (TEI) of Thessaly, 413 35 Larissa, Greece.
Abstract:
This paper presents an innovative technological platform which is based on infrared video recording and is used for monitoring multiple ice nucleation events and their interactions, as they happen in 96 well microplates. Thousands of freezing curves were obtained during this study and the following freezing parameters were measured: cooling rate, nucleation point, freezing point, solidus point, degree of supercooling, duration of dendritic phase and duration of crystal growth. We demonstrate the use of this platform in the detection of ice nuclei in plant samples. Future applications of this platform may include breeding for frost tolerance, cryopreservation, frozen food technology and atmospheric sciences.
Related Concept Videos
Responses to Heat and Cold Stress
Recrystallization: Solid–Solution Equilibria
Introduction to Plant Diversity
Crystal Growth: Principles of Crystallization
Initiating crystallization involves manipulating the concentration of the solute and the temperature of the solution. Since crystal growth occurs when the ratio of concentration and solubility of the solute in the solvent...

