Solving the Puzzle of Polymers Binding to Ice for Cryopreservation
Up to now, the ice community has been working under the assumption that short polymers do not bind strongly enough to the ice crystals, but in this work we demonstrate that it is the subtle balance between these binding interactions and the effective volume occupied by the polymers at the interface with ice that determine their effectiveness in hindering ice re-crystallization.
This work brings together experimental measurements of ice recrystallization inhibition and computer simulations. The latter are invaluable tools to gain microscopic insight into processes such as the formation of ice, as they are able to see what is happening in very fast or very small processes which are hard to see via even the most advanced experimental techniques. Have a look
at the paper online or grab a .pdf. The University of Warwick press release can be found here.