Ice shaping properties, similar to that of antifreeze proteins, of a zirconium acetate complex.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 22028886.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0026474 and PMC identifier PMC1692999.
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Abstract
The control of the growth morphologies of ice crystals is a critical issue in fields as diverse as biomineralization, medicine, biology, civil or food engineering. Such control can be achieved through the ice-shaping properties of specific compounds. The development of synthetic ice-shaping compounds is inspired by the natural occurrence of such properties exhibited by antifreeze proteins. We reveal how a particular zirconium acetate complex is exhibiting ice-shaping properties very similar to that of antifreeze proteins, albeit being a radically different compound. We use these properties as a bioinspired approach to template unique faceted pores in cellular materials. These results suggest that ice-structuring properties are not exclusive to long organic molecules and should broaden the field of investigations and applications of such substances.