Creating Anti-icing Surfaces via the Direct Immobilization of Antifreeze Proteins on Aluminum

Cryoprotectants such as antifreeze proteins (AFPs) and sugar molecules may provide a solution for icing problems. These anti-icing substances protect cells and tissues from freezing by inhibiting ice formation. In this study, we developed a method for coating an industrial metal material (aluminum,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific Reports
Main Authors: Gwak, Yunho, Park, Ji-in, Kim, Minjae, Kim, Hong Suk, Kwon, Myong Jong, Oh, Seung Jin, Kim, Young-Pil, Jin, EonSeon
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2015
Subjects:
Article
Antarctic
The Antarctic
Antarc*
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4495550/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26153855
https://doi.org/10.1038/srep12019
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Summary:Cryoprotectants such as antifreeze proteins (AFPs) and sugar molecules may provide a solution for icing problems. These anti-icing substances protect cells and tissues from freezing by inhibiting ice formation. In this study, we developed a method for coating an industrial metal material (aluminum, Al) with AFP from the Antarctic marine diatom, Chaetoceros neogracile (Cn-AFP), to prevent or delay ice formation. To coat Al with Cn-AFP, we used an Al-binding peptide (ABP) as a conjugator and fused it with Cn-AFP. The ABP bound well to the Al and did not considerably change the functional properties of AFP. Cn-AFP-coated Al (Cn-AFP-Al) showed a sufficiently low supercooling point. Additional trehalose coating of Cn-AFP-Al considerably delayed AFP denaturation on the Al without affecting its antifreeze activity. This metal surface–coating method using trehalose-fortified AFP can be applied to other metals important in the aircraft and cold storage fields where anti-icing materials are critical.

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