Biological antifreezes protect cold-water organisms from freezing. An example is the antifreeze proteins (AFP’s) that attach to the surface of ice crystals and arrest growth. The mechanism for growth arrest has not been heretofore understood in a quantitative way. We present a complete theory based on a kinetic model. We use the “stones on a pillow” picture. Our theory of the suppression of the freezing point as a function of the concentration of the AFP is quantitatively accurate. It gives a correct description of the dependence of the freezing point suppression on the geometry of the protein, and might lead to advances in design of synthetic AFP’s.

• Received 12 April 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.128102