Scientists have figured out the molecular structure of antifreeze proteins

this art map shows the molecular structure of proteins on the ice surface directly using and frequency generation spectroscopy techniques.ability to arrange water molecules is usually maintained by ice. Ice affects nearby water and prompts the latter to join the ice, freezing it. But for organisms living in frozen environments, a particularly powerful antifreeze protein overcomes the constraints of ice on water and "convinces" water molecules to act in favor of proteins.
recently, in the Journal of Chemical Physics of the American Physical Federation (AIP), scientists studied the molecular structure of an antifreeze protein to see how it works. Lead author Konrad Meister and colleagues from the Institute of Polymers at the German Magnum Institute traveled to the coldest places on Earth, including the North and South Poles, to collect antifreeze proteins from different sources. The protein they analyzed in the study was the most active antifreeze protein on record, from a beetle called Rhagium mordax in northern Europe.
" side of the antifreeze protein has a unique structure, the so-called protein ice binding point. This bit is very flat, slightly hydrophobic, and does not have any charged residue. "If you can't measure the ice protein interface directly, it's hard to understand how this side interacts with ice. Now
in the lab, these unique biomo molecules are attached to ice for the first time, allowing researchers to see more closely how antifreeze proteins guide interactions when they come into contact with ice.
study found that the ripple structure of this protein can fix the passage of water. This means that when these proteins come into contact with ice, the water molecules change to form different hydrogen bond structures and directions, rather than freezing.
" molecular scale is the key to understanding antifreeze protein function or working mechanisms. If we know this, we can make something cool that society as a whole can benefit from. Meister said.
antifreeze properties of this protein can be used as a model for designing synthetic versions to help aircraft de-icing, preserve organs and prevent ice cream from forming crystalline