Melting inhibition and superheating of ice by an antifreeze glycopeptide.

The melting of pure ice single crystals can be inhibited by the presence of an antifreeze glycopeptide isolated from an Antarctic fish. This inhibition effect exhibits crystallographic dependence and can result in superheating of the crystal by heat conduction across the ice-solution interface. The antifreeze molecules inhibit melting in a manner more or less symmetrical to their well-known effect of inhibiting freezing. The melting effect is best expressed at concave ice interfaces, whereas the freezing effect is best expressed at convex ones. Both are restricted to orientations near (1010) with the particular antifreeze that was used.