Sosso, GC, Whale, TF orcid.org/0000-0002-1062-2685, Holden, MA orcid.org/0000-0003-3060-7615 et al. (3 more authors) (2018) Unravelling the origins of ice nucleation on organic crystals. Chemical Science, 9 (42). pp. 8077-8088. ISSN 2041-6520
Abstract
Organic molecules such as steroids or amino acids form crystals that can facilitate the formation of ice-arguably the most important phase transition on earth. However, the origin of the ice nucleating ability of organic crystals is still largely unknown. Here, we combine experiments and simulations to unravel the microscopic details of ice formation on cholesterol, a prototypical organic crystal widely used in cryopreservation. We find that cholesterol-which is also a substantial component of cell membranes-is an ice nucleating agent more potent than many inorganic substrates, including the mineral feldspar (one of the most active ice nucleating materials in the atmosphere). Scanning electron microscopy measurements reveal a variety of morphological features on the surfaces of cholesterol crystals: this suggests that the topography of the surface is key to the broad range of ice nucleating activity observed (from -4 to -20 °C). In addition, we show via molecular simulations that cholesterol crystals aid the formation of ice nuclei in a unconventional fashion. Rather than providing a template for a flat ice-like contact layer (as found in the case of many inorganic substrates), the flexibility of the cholesterol surface and its low density of hydrophilic functional groups leads to the formation of molecular cages involving both water molecules and terminal hydroxyl groups of the cholesterol surface. These cages are made of 6- and, surprisingly, 5-membered hydrogen bonded rings of water and hydroxyl groups that favour the nucleation of hexagonal as well as cubic ice (a rare occurrence). We argue that the phenomenal ice nucleating activity of steroids such as cholesterol (and potentially of many other organic crystals) is due to (i) the ability of flexible hydrophilic surfaces to form unconventional ice-templating structures and (ii) the different nucleation sites offered by the diverse topography of the crystalline surfaces. These findings clarify how exactly organic crystals promote the formation of ice, thus paving the way toward deeper understanding of ice formation in soft and biological matter-with obvious reverberations on atmospheric science and cryobiology.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018 The Royal Society of Chemistry. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. Material from this article can be used in other publications provided that the correct acknowledgement is given with the reproduced material |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Inst for Climate & Atmos Science (ICAS) (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemistry (Leeds) > Inorganic Chemistry (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Physics and Astronomy (Leeds) > Molecular & Nanoscale Physics |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 21 Dec 2018 13:27 |
Last Modified: | 21 Dec 2018 13:27 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Royal Society of Chemistry |
Identification Number: | 10.1039/c8sc02753f |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:140309 |
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