137 Controlling freezing using infrared radiation

Abstract

Controlling ice growth is a significant tool in many fields such as preventing frost damage to plants, improving cryo-preservation of cells, tissues and organs, the frozen food industry, and cryopreservation procedures. We suggest a control of ice growth in super-cooled solutions by a combination of infrared (IR) radiation and antifreeze materials, such as antifreeze proteins (AFPs), for the purpose of cryobiology and food science. AFPs, which are part of the ice-binding proteins family, inhibit the growth of an ice crystal. As a result, the freezing temperature is reduced below the melting point. The hypothesis is that ice crystals can be stabilized in super-cooled solution by the use of the difference in the IR absorption of ice and water. Additional super-cooling can be achieved by AFPs. We use a homemade temperature-controlled system that allows fine control of the temperature of small amounts of liquid enclosed in a microdevice (Celik, Drori et al., 2013). The system includes an IR radiation to selectively heat and melt ice, due to the ability of IR radiation to heat ice more than water when a particular wavelength is chosen (Ullman, 2001). To measure the temperature within the device, we use a near-IR (NIR) camera and a band filter. This method is based on the temperature dependence of the NIR absorption of water (Kakuta, Fukuhara et al., 2011). Initial results show the ability to melt ice within microfluidic devices. We also were able to measure temperature field within the water using the IR camera. Simulation guided experiments are developed to show the control of ice growth using IR radiation in coexistence of ice crystals in super-cooled water. The combination we propose to control ice within miniature samples with an IR radiation and AFPs, opens the possibility of a new method for cryopreservation of cells and tissues. Source of funding: The Israel Science Foundation (ISF). Conflict of interest: None declared. ido.braslavsky@mail.huji.ac.il