Modeling the Influence of Antifreeze Proteins on Three-Dimensional Ice Crystal Melt Shapes using a Geometric Approach

TL;DR

This paper extends geometric models to three dimensions to analyze how antifreeze proteins influence the melting shapes of ice crystals, providing a quantitative framework for understanding hypAFP-ice interactions.

Contribution

It introduces a 3D geometric modeling approach to simulate ice crystal melting influenced by antifreeze proteins, advancing previous 2D models.

Findings

Successfully reproduces experimental ellipsoidal melting shapes

Provides a quantitative tool for hypAFP-ice interaction mechanisms

Extends geometric crystal growth models to three dimensions

Abstract

The melting of pure axisymmetric ice crystals has been described previously by us within the framework of so-called geometric crystal growth. Nonequilibrium ice crystal shapes evolving in the presence of hyperactive antifreeze proteins (hypAFPs) are experimentally observed to assume ellipsoidal geometries ("lemon" or "rice" shapes). To analyze such shapes we harness the underlying symmetry of hexagonal ice Ih and extend two-dimensional geometric models to three-dimensions to reproduce the experimental dissolution process. The geometrical model developed will be useful as a quantitative test of the mechanisms of interaction between hypAFPs and ice.