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Lipid bilayers as potential ice nucleating agents

Lipid bilayers as potential ice nucleating agents
Lipid bilayers as potential ice nucleating agents

Cellular damage is a key issue in the context of cryopreservation. Much of this damage is believed to be caused by extracellular ice formation at temperatures well above the homogeneous freezing point of pure water. Hence the question: what initiates ice nucleation during cryopreservation? In this paper, we assess whether cellular membranes could be responsible for facilitating the ice nucleation process, and what characteristics would make them good or bad ice nucleating agents. By means of molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate a number of phospholipids and lipopolysaccharide bilayers at the interface with supercooled liquid water. While these systems certainly appear to act as ice nucleating agents, it is likely that other impurities might also play a role in initiating extracellular ice nucleation. Furthermore, we elucidate the factors which affect a bilayer's ability to act as an ice nucleating agent; these are complex, with specific reference to both chemical and structural factors. These findings represent a first attempt to pinpoint the origin of extracellular ice nucleation, with important implications for the cryopreservation process.

Cryopreservation, Freezing, Ice, Lipid Bilayers, Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Water/chemistry
1463-9076
6476-6491
Miles, Christopher M.
6b6fc7ee-dc77-422d-a9bc-f0b3aa68c8cf
Hsu, Pin Chia
4b4c8c18-752e-4ba8-a456-0fc71df1b286
Dixon, Ann M.
ca9db90f-7704-420a-87e4-665ec1beab1a
Khalid, Syma
90fbd954-7248-4f47-9525-4d6af9636394
Sosso, Gabriele C.
b565b148-436b-4dca-9e16-5a619237bacd
Miles, Christopher M.
6b6fc7ee-dc77-422d-a9bc-f0b3aa68c8cf
Hsu, Pin Chia
4b4c8c18-752e-4ba8-a456-0fc71df1b286
Dixon, Ann M.
ca9db90f-7704-420a-87e4-665ec1beab1a
Khalid, Syma
90fbd954-7248-4f47-9525-4d6af9636394
Sosso, Gabriele C.
b565b148-436b-4dca-9e16-5a619237bacd

Miles, Christopher M., Hsu, Pin Chia, Dixon, Ann M., Khalid, Syma and Sosso, Gabriele C. (2022) Lipid bilayers as potential ice nucleating agents. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 24 (11), 6476-6491. (doi:10.1039/d1cp05465a).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Cellular damage is a key issue in the context of cryopreservation. Much of this damage is believed to be caused by extracellular ice formation at temperatures well above the homogeneous freezing point of pure water. Hence the question: what initiates ice nucleation during cryopreservation? In this paper, we assess whether cellular membranes could be responsible for facilitating the ice nucleation process, and what characteristics would make them good or bad ice nucleating agents. By means of molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate a number of phospholipids and lipopolysaccharide bilayers at the interface with supercooled liquid water. While these systems certainly appear to act as ice nucleating agents, it is likely that other impurities might also play a role in initiating extracellular ice nucleation. Furthermore, we elucidate the factors which affect a bilayer's ability to act as an ice nucleating agent; these are complex, with specific reference to both chemical and structural factors. These findings represent a first attempt to pinpoint the origin of extracellular ice nucleation, with important implications for the cryopreservation process.

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Accepted/In Press date: 25 February 2022
Published date: 1 March 2022
Keywords: Cryopreservation, Freezing, Ice, Lipid Bilayers, Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Water/chemistry

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 456965
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/456965
ISSN: 1463-9076
PURE UUID: 682a8c98-f65c-477f-a9d0-5ca1198b333f
ORCID for Syma Khalid: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3694-5044

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Date deposited: 18 May 2022 16:55
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 05:29

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Contributors

Author: Christopher M. Miles
Author: Pin Chia Hsu
Author: Ann M. Dixon
Author: Syma Khalid ORCID iD
Author: Gabriele C. Sosso

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