Hydrophobic Media Research Articles

Structural peculiarities of lysozyme – PLURONIC complexes at the aqueous-air and liquid-liquid interfaces and in the bulk of aqueous solution

Interaction between proteins and synthetic polymers that represent a perspective potential in drug delivery or/and already used in medicine plays a key role in biological functioning of both molecules along with a system as a whole. In present study association between hen egg white lysozyme and Pluronic triblock-copolymers (L121, P123 and F127) in the bulk of the solution as well as at the aqueous-air and liquid-liquid interfaces was analyzed by means of spectroscopic and radiochemical assay. In protein-Pluronic complexes lysozyme keeps the secondary structure (CD and SAXS data results), while fluorescence and UV-analysis indicates changes in the local surrounding of fluorophoric amino acid residues. Radiochemical assay in combination with molecular docking reveals the formation of the complexes, in which proline residues turned to the interface between water and hydrophobic medium.

Impact of pH and cell medium on the interaction of doxorubicin with lipoic acid cyclodextrin conjugate as the drug carrier

Lipoic acid derivative of cyclodextrin, βCDLip, was used as the drug carrier for doxorubicin (DOX) and the stability constants of the DOX–βCDLip were determined in the environment of the cell medium. The experiments were performed in neutral (pH 7.6) and acidified (pH 6.3) cell media containing more than forty interferences including: amino acids, vitamins, lipids and proteins. We proved that the pH of the medium has a noticeable impact on the affinity of the drug towards the carrier. At neutral pH, the formation constants of the complex are higher than at pH 6.3, what is characteristic for the cancer cells microenvironment. Furthermore, the values obtained in both cell media are twice smaller than the values obtained previously for the same complex but in the absence of common cell media components indicating that there is a competition between DOX and some hydrophobic medium components for the complex formation with βCDLip. On the other hand at pH 7.6, the amount of free DOX is highly limited due to the fact that most of DOX is still in the complexed form, while at pH 6.3 the cell media ingredients become strong interferences in the formation of the complex between DOX and the drug carrier. The observed behaviour is due to partial protonation of DOX and to competition between the drug and the lipoic side arm of cyclodextrin for the cyclodextrin cavity. The stability constants of the DOX–βCDLip complex in acidic pH are similar to the values for DOX with native β-cyclodextrin, demonstrating that the strengthening effect of DOX–CD complex resulting from the presence of cyclodextrin’s aromatic substituent (Lip) occurs only in the case of neutral pH. The high value of the stability constant of the DOX–βCDLip complex in cell medium at pH 7.6 indicates high selectivity of βCDLip ligand which would be of importance both for the effective drug delivery and for its application in DOX sensing devices.

In Russian

The aim of this work was to search the colloidal systems characterized by maximal effects of water interaction with a solid surface and micro-coagulation, as well development of control methods of thixotropic properties, by addition of solid and liquid hydrophobic compounds into the colloidal systems. Water state and its thermodynamic characteristics, namely the values of free interfacial energy for concentrated colloidal systems based on hydrated blends of hydrophobic compounds (polymethylsiloxane, PMS and methylated nanosilica AM1) and hydrophilic nanosilica A-300, were studied using low-temperature 1 H NMR spectroscopy and electron microscopy. It was established that the free interfacial energy of water, determining the thixotropic properties of the concentrated suspensions under condition of great hydration, is firstly affected by the structure of inter-particulate space, especially by the nanocoagulation effects and influence of a surface on the formation of the hydrogen bonds network in the adsorption layer. For the blend with A-300 and AM1 (1:1 w/w), the free surface energy of interaction with water is nearly ten times greater than that for the initial silicas alone. However, the micro-coagulation effects are poorly visible in microscopic images because these oxides are composed of similar nanoparticles. Similar effects of enhancement of the free surface energy are observed for a blend with A-300 and PMS. For this blend, the micro-coagulation effect is observed in microscopic images. It is maximal for the blend prepared without strong mechanical loading. PMS has a twice greater surface area than that of A-300. Therefore, water filling voids in PMS aggregates forms clusters of smaller sizes than that bound in A-300. However, hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity is not a predominant factor determining the free surface energy of bound water. If strongly hydrated treated powders of PMS (or AM1) and A-300 are placed into a hydrophobic medium with weakly polar CDCl 3 that this solvent could diffuse into hydrophobic component and displace water from narrow interparticle voids toward larger ones. However, this effect is much weaker for a hydrophilic component with A-300. These effects appear in a strong dependence of the γ S value on the type of the dispersion medium for PMS and a weak dependence for A-300. The stronger the decreasing effects of a hydrophobic liquid onto the γ S value, the stronger is diminution of the thixotropic properties on the composites. The blends of hydrophobic and hydrophilic powders with the bulk density < 0.2 g/cm 3 are most perspective thixotropic compositions since they demonstrate the maximal values of γ S and a strong microcoagulation effect.

Osmotic Swelling of Sodium Hectorite in Ternary Solvent Mixtures: Nematic Liquid Crystals in Hydrophobic Media.

The swelling of clay minerals in organic solvents or solvent mixtures is key for the fabrication of polymer nanocomposites with perfectly dispersed filler that contain only individual clay layers. Here, we investigated the swelling behavior of sodium hectorite in different ternary solvent mixtures containing methanol, acetonitrile, ethylene glycol, or glycerol carbonate with minimal amounts of water. We found that in these mixtures, less water is required than in the corresponding binary mixtures to allow for complete delamination by repulsive osmotic swelling. A quantitative study of osmotic swelling in a particular ternary mixture shows that organic solvents resemble swelling behavior in pure water. At hectorite contents larger than 5 vol %, the separation of individual layers scales with ϕ-1. At this concentration, a crossover is observed and swelling continues at a slower pace (ϕ-0.5) below this value.

Instant Thermal Switching from Soft Hydrogel to Rigid Plastics Inspired by Thermophile Proteins.

Proteins of thermophiles are thermally stable in a high-temperature environment, adopting a strategy of enhancing the electrostatic interaction in hydrophobic media at high temperature. Herein, inspired by the molecular mechanism of thermally stable proteins, the synthesis of novel polymer materials that undergo ultrarapid, isochoric, and reversible switching from soft hydrogels to rigid plastics at elevated temperature is reported. The materials are developed from versatile, inexpensive, and nontoxic poly(acrylic acid) hydrogels containing calcium acetate. By the cooperative effects of hydrophobic interaction and ionic interaction, the hydrogels undergo significant spinodal decomposition and subsequent rubbery-to-glassy transition when heated to an elevated temperature. As a result, the gels exhibit super-rapid and significant hikes in stiffness, strength, and toughness by up to 1800-, 80-, and 20-folds, respectively, when the temperature is raised from 25 to 70 °C, while the volumes of the gels are almost unchanged. As a potential application, the performance of the materials as athletic protective gear is demonstrated. This work provides a pathway for developing thermally stiffened materials and may significantly broaden the scope of polymer applications.

Reflectometry Reveals Accumulation of Surfactant Impurities at Bare Oil/Water Interfaces.

Bare interfaces between water and hydrophobic media like air or oil are of fundamental scientific interest and of great relevance for numerous applications. A number of observations involving water/hydrophobic interfaces have, however, eluded a consensus mechanistic interpretation so far. Recent theoretical studies ascribe these phenomena to an interfacial accumulation of charged surfactant impurities in water. In the present work, we show that identifying surfactant accumulation with X-ray reflectometry (XRR) or neutron reflectometry (NR) is challenging under conventional contrast configurations because interfacial surfactant layers are then hardly visible. On the other hand, both XRR and NR become more sensitive to surfactant accumulation when a suitable scattering length contrast is generated by using fluorinated oil. With this approach, significant interfacial accumulation of surfactant impurities at the bare oil/water interface is observed in experiments involving standard cleaning procedures. These results suggest that surfactant impurities may be a limiting factor for the investigation of fundamental phenomena involving water/hydrophobic interfaces.

Supramolecular Organization of Model Polycyclic Aromatic Molecules: Comparison of 2D and 3D Assemblies

AbstractThe spatial organization of polycyclic aromatic molecules during adhesion on a solid/liquid interface is the key event of a plethora of natural and industrial processes. Herein, we report the supramolecular assembly of violanthrone‐79—a model of asphaltenes, an intractable mixture of polycyclic aromatics from crude oil—at the solid‐liquid interface between highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and a hydrophobic medium (1‐phenyloctane). High‐resolution scanning tunneling microscopy revealed that molecules of violanthrone‐79 readily self‐assemble on the surface in supramolecular “nanoring” structures. The lattice parameters of the 2D unit cell are on the same order as those determined from a bulk single crystal. Transmission electron microscopy showed long‐range ordered patterns, and the spacing between the fringes is in agreement with the inter‐planar distances between aromatic cores of molecules that are helically arranged around the [001] axis in the 3D crystal. The results confirm that upon adsorption on solid/liquid interfaces, polycyclic aromatic molecules such as violanthrone‐79 form supramolecular assemblies by interaction with the substrate and self‐association, and this process could be the initial step of deposition of asphaltenes on carbonaceous oil reservoir walls and production tubing.

Solid-Contact Ion-Selective Electrodes Comprising Hydrophobic Redox Buffers

A calibration-free measurement with an ionophore-doped polymeric membrane ion-selective electrode requires that the phase boundary potential at the sample/sensing membrane interface is controlled by the activity of the target ion in the sample of interest, while all other phase boundary potentials in the electrochemical cell are constant and long term stable. Historically, the biggest difficulty lies in establishing a reproducible phase boundary potential at the interface of the sensing membrane and the underlying electron conductor. Efforts over several decades to use conducting polymers as an interlayer between the ion-selective membrane and an underlying electron conductor, such as a metal or carbon, have had limited success. While the performance of such devices has been much improved in terms of light sensitivity and hydrophobicity of the conducting polymer layer, devices that can be considered calibration-free are still elusive. To that end, hydrophobic redox buffers have been introduced as an alternative to conducting polymers. While hydrophilic redox buffers play central roles in all living organisms, control many geological and environmental processes, and are often utilized in the laboratory, buffering of redox potentials in hydrophobic media is a topic that has in the past been overlooked. This presentation will address principles for the use of hydrophobic redox buffers, and it will discuss recent examples of hydrophobic redox buffers suitable for the fabrication of ion-selective electrode membranes that are calibration-free. (1) Redox Buffer Capacity of Ion-Selective Electrode Solid Contacts Doped with Organometallic Complexes, Zhen, X. V.; Rousseau, C. R.; Buhlmann, P. Anal. Chem., 2018, 90, 11000-11007. (2) Paper-Based All-Solid-State Ion-Sensing Platform with a Solid Contact Comprising Colloid-Imprinted Mesoporous Carbon and a Redox Buffer, Hu, J.; Zhao, W.; Bühlmann, P.; Stein, A., ACS Appl. Nano Mat. 2018, 1, 293–301.

Comparison of the Size and Properties of the Cytochrome c/Cardiolipin Nanospheres in a Sediment and Non-polar Medium.

Apoptosis, as the major type of programmed cell death, plays an important role in the organism renewal and removal of defective and transformed cells, including cancer cells. One of the earliest apoptotic events is lipid peroxidation in the inner mitochondrial membrane catalyzed by a complex of cytochrome c (CytC) with the mitochondrial phospholipid cardiolipin (CL). It was shown that mixing CytC and CL solutions results in the formation of CytC/CL complexes (Cyt-CL nanospheres) with a diameter of 11-12 nm composed of the molten globule protein molecule and a CL monolayer. Using the methods of dynamic light scattering for the Cyt-CL chloroform solution and small-angle X-ray scattering for the Cyt-CL sediment, it was found that in both cases, Cyt-CL formed nanospheres with a diameter of 8 and 11 nm, which corresponded to the earlier determined lipid/protein ratios of 13-14 and 35-50, respectively. These results showed that the Cyt-CL nanospheres can form not only during crystallization but also in a hydrophobic medium. CytC in the complex exists as a molten globule, as evidenced by the emergence of tryptophan and tyrosine fluorescence (absent in the native protein) due to the Förster resonance transfer of the electron excitation energy onto the heme. At the same time, the coordinate bond between the heme iron and the sulfur atom of methionine 80 in Cyt-CL is disrupted (the absorption band at ~700 nm disappears). Similar disruption of the iron-sulfur bond in Cyt-CL was observed in 50% methanol. These changes were reversible, which corroborates the conclusion on the CytC transition to the molten globule conformation in methanol-containing solutions.

Microbial bioconversion of thermally depolymerized polypropylene by Yarrowia lipolytica for fatty acid production.

Plastic production and waste generation will continue to rise as nations worldwide grow economically. In this work, we detail a pyrolysis-based bioconversion process for polypropylene (PP) to produce value-added fatty acids (FAs). PP pellets were depolymerized by pyrolysis, generating oil that consisted of mainly branched chain fatty alcohols and alkenes. The oil was mixed with biodegradable surfactants and trace nutrients and mechanically homogenized. The resulting medium, OP4, was used for fermentation by Yarrowia lipolytica strain 78-003. Y. lipolytica assimilated > 80% of the substrate over 312 h, including 86% of the fatty alcohols. Y. lipolytica produced up to 492 mg L-1 lipids, compared with 216 mg L-1 during growth in surfactant-based control medium. C 18 compounds, including oleic acid, linoleic acid, and stearic acid, were the predominant products, followed by C 16 compounds palmitic and palmitoleic acids. Two percent of the products was C 20 compounds. The majority of the products were unsaturated FAs. Growth on hydrophobic substrates (OP4 medium, hexadecane) was compared with growth on hydrophilic substrates (glucose, starch). The resulting FA profiles revealed an absence of short-chain fatty acids during growth on hydrophobic media, findings consistent with ex novo FA biosynthesis. Overall, FA profiles by Y. lipolytica during growth in OP4 medium were similar to FA profiles while growing on natural substrates. The process described here offers an alternative approach to managing postconsumer plastic waste.

Nuclear Quantum Effects in Hydrophobic Nanoconfinement.

Nuclear quantum effects (NQEs) in water arise due to delocalization, zero-point energy (ZPE), and quantum tunneling of protons. Whereas quantum tunneling is significant only at low temperatures, proton delocalization and ZPE influence the properties of water at normal temperature and pressure (NTP), giving rise to isotope effects. However, the consequences of NQEs for interfaces of water with hydrophobic media, such as perfluorocarbons, have remained largely unexplored. Here, we reveal the existence and signature of NQEs modulating hydrophobic surface forces at NTP. Our experiments demonstrate that the attractive hydrophobic forces between molecularly smooth and rigid perfluorinated surfaces in nanoconfinement are ≈10% higher in H2O than in D2O, even though the contact angles of H2O and D2O on these surfaces are indistinguishable. Our molecular dynamics simulations show that the underlying cause of the difference includes the destabilizing effect of ZPE on the librational motions of interfacial H2O, which experiences larger quantum effects than D2O.

C10MI·CF3SO3: a hydrophobic ionic liquid medium for the production of HMF from sugars avoiding the use of organic solvent

C10MI·CF3SO3, a water-insoluble ionic liquid (IL) associated to HCl, is shown as a highly efficient catalytic system for the production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from fructose, 100% conversion with 90% of HMF selectivity after 1 h of reaction at 110 °C. As the IL is water-insoluble, HMF, which is soluble in water, is easily separated from the reaction solvent (IL) by water extraction in contrast to usual aqueous catalytic system that needs the use of organic solvent to extract HMF to proceed to its oxidation. The behavior of this catalytic system is evaluated and compared regarding the conversion of different sugars (fructose, glucose, and sucrose) by varying the reaction time.

Enhanced lipase-catalyzed synthesis of sugar fatty acid esters using supersaturated sugar solution in ionic liquids

A solvent-mediated method (SMM) was used to prepare supersaturated sugar solutions in hydrophobic and mixture of hydrophilic/hydrophobic ionic liquids (ILs), namely, [Bmim][Tf2N] and [Bmim][TfO]/[Bmim][Tf2N], respectively. In this method, sugars were first solubilized in a mixture of organic solvent and water (i.e. methanol:water, 1:1 v/v), and then added to [Bmim][Tf2N] and/or [Bmim][TfO]/[Bmim][Tf2N] mixture. Supersaturated sugar solution in ILs were obtained by removing organic solvents and water under vacuum evaporation. Sugar solubilities in ILs, especially in hydrophobic IL ([Bmim][Tf2N]) and in [Bmim][TfO]/[Bmim][Tf2N] mixture prepared by SMM were greater than in ILs prepared using water-mediated method (WMM), which suggested methanol aided sugar solvation in hydrophobic media. In addition, interactions between glucose molecules and between glucose and methanol, water, and IL were investigated by all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The MD simulation results showed that initial water and water/methanol molecules around glucose were gradually replaced by IL anions. Notably, SMM resulted in stronger interaction between IL anions and glucose than WMM, which was attributed to greater solubility of sugar in ILs prepared by SMM. Resultantly, the productivity of lipase-catalyzed production of glucose laurate using supersaturated glucose solution in [Bmim][TfO]/[Bmim][Tf2N] mixture prepared by SMM was at least 1.76-fold greater than that obtained in IL mixture prepared by WMM.

Surface modification of ilmenite by a novel surfactant dodecyliminodimethylenediphosphoinc acid and its sequent influence on ilmenite floatability

ABSTRACTIn the study, a novel compound of dodecyliminodimethylenediphosphoinc acid was synthesized, and its adsorption mechanism onto ilmenite surface was investigated by zeta potential, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscop (XPS) measurements. The zeta potential measurement results indicated that dodecyliminodimethylenediphosphoinc acid (DDDA) could adsorb onto ilmenite surface, and the optimum pH range for adsorption was 4–8 (similar to the flotation behavior). The FTIR analyses further confirmed that DDDA chemisorbed onto ilmenite surface and formed metal–DDDA complex, rendering the hydrophobic media for flotation. The XPS results provided strong evidences that DDDA species chemisorbed onto ilmenite surface and reacted with Fe ions rather than Ti ions.

Preparation and Antitumoral Activity of Au-Based Inorganic-Organometallic Nanocomposites.

The synergy between gelator molecules and nanostructured materials is currently a novel matter of study. The possibility to carefully design the skeleton of the molecular entity as well as the nanostructure's morphological and chemical features offers the possibility to prepare a huge variety of nanocomposites with properties potentially different than just the sum of those of the individual building blocks. Here we describe the synthesis and characterization of nanocomposites made by the unconventional combination of phosphine-Au(I)-alkynyl-based organometallic gelating molecules and plasmonic Au nanoparticles. Our results indicate that the interaction between the two moieties leads to a significant degree of aggregation in both hydrophilic and hydrophobic media, either when using DAPTA or PTA-based organometallic molecules, with the formation of a sponge-like hybrid powder upon solvent evaporation. The biological activity of the nanocomposites was assessed, suggesting the existence of a synergetic effect evidenced by the higher cytotoxicity of the hybrid systems with respect to that of any of their isolated counterparts. These results represent a preliminary proof-of-concept for the exploitation of these novel nanocomposites in the biomedical field.

Microfluidic analysis of fentanyl-laced heroin samples by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy in a hydrophobic medium.

Opioid overdose deaths resulting from heroin contaminated with the potent opioid agonist fentanyl, are currently a serious public health issue. A rapid and reliable method for identifying fentanyl-laced heroin could lead to reduced opioid overdose. Herein, we describe a strategy for detecting fentanyl at low concentrations in the presence of heroin, based on the significant hydrophobicity of fentanyl compared to heroin hydrochloride, by preferentially extracting trace concentrations of fentanyl using ultrasound-assisted emulsification microextraction using octanol as the extracting phase. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), is enabled by exposing the analyte to silver nanoparticle-coated SiO2 nanoparticles, designed to be stable in mixtures of octanol and ethanol. The sample is then loaded into an SU8/glass microfluidic device that is compatible with non-aqueous solutions. The SERS-active nanoparticles are aggregated by dielectrophoresis using microelectrodes embedded in the microfluidic channels, and the nanoparticle aggregates are interrogated using Raman spectroscopy. Using this method, we were able to reliably detect fentanyl from samples with as low as 1 : 10 000 (mol/mol) fentanyl-to-heroin ratio, improving the limits of detection of fentanyl-laced heroin samples by two orders of magnitude over current techniques. The described system could also be useful in chemical detection where rapid and robust preconcentration of trace hydrophobic analytes, and rapid SERS detection in non-aqueous solvents is indicated.

Facile one-step fabrication of highly hydrophobic medium density fiberboard (MDF) surfaces via spray coating

We proposed a simple and useful one-step spray coating method to protect MDF panels against physical and mechanical damages commonly presented in indoor real-life conditions. Highly hydrophobic surfaces were designed by TMCS (trimethylchlorosilane)-SiO2 nanoparticles deposition on MDF panels as a function of concentration of solution (0.1 and 0.3%) and number of cycles (10, 20 and 30 times). The formation of TMCS-SiO2 coating on MDF surface was investigated by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), attenuated total reflectance with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and time-dependent apparent contact angle (WCA). Water drop impacting, dust impacting, and tape-peeling tests were conducted to simulate real-condition damages on MDF surfaces and to investigate the durability of highly hydrophobic coating. The coated MDF panels showed apparent water contact angle exceeding 140° with an interesting time-dependent stability and ability to roll-off, especially because the hydrophobicity of TMCS and hierarchical structure self-organized by spherical SiO2 nanoparticles. This rougher surface and presence of alkyl groups provide physical and mechanical durability of MDF panels even after water drop and dust impact tests, and tape-peeling up to five cycles. Therefore, this facile one-step MDF coating can be an effective, stable and mechanically durable alternative to protect MDF in undesirable real-life conditions.

Investigating the structural properties of the active conformation BTL2 of a lipase from Geobacillus thermocatenulatus in toluene using molecular dynamic simulations and engineering BTL2 via in-silico mutation.

The discovery or development of thermoalkalophilic lipases that show high levels of catalytic activity in organic solvents would have important industrial ramifications. However, this goal is yet to be achieved because organic solvents induce structural changes in lipases that suppress their catalytic abilities. A deep understanding of these structural changes to lipases in the presence of organic solvents is required before strategies can be devised to stop them from occurring. In this work, we investigated the effects of an organic reaction medium, toluene, on the structure of the Bacillus thermocatenulatus lipase BTL2 using MD simulation. The main aims were to identify the regions of the protein that are particularly sensitive to the presence of an organic solvent, and how the presence of a hydrophobic medium affects the overall stability of the enzyme. Upon analyzing how the behavior of the enzyme differed in aqueous and hydrophobic media, it was found that many significant zones of the protein suffer in the presence of an organic solvent, which increases the rigidity of the system. This was readily apparent when we investigated important noncovalent interactions (salt bridges) and probed how distances between the atoms of the catalytic triad Ser114, Asp318, and His359 change in the presence of toluene. Moreover, the high tendency for the system to destabilize in toluene was explained by the results of FoldX calculations. Calculations showed that the addition of a small amount of water to the hydrophobic reaction environment should restore the required flexibility of BTL2. The insights gained from the analysis of our simulations allowed us to propose a modification of BTL2, the G116P mutation, that should result in the structural behavior of BTL2 in organic solvent being closer to that of BTL2 in water.

Grafting Polymers from Cellulose Nanocrystals: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications

Over the past 10 years, the grafting of polymers from the surface of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) has gained substantial interest in both academia and industry due to the rapidly growing number of potential applications of surface-modified CNCs, which range from building blocks in nanocomposites and responsive nanomaterials to antimicrobial agents. CNCs are rod-like nanoparticles that can be isolated from renewable biosources and which exhibit high crystallinity, tunable aspect ratio, high stiffness, and strength. Upon drying, the abundance of surface hydroxyl groups often leads to a degree of irreversible aggregation, as a result of strong hydrogen bonding. Moreover, their relatively hydrophilic character renders CNCs incompatible with hydrophobic media, e.g., nonpolar solvents and polyolefin matrices. By grafting macromolecules from their surface, CNCs can be imparted with surface characteristics and other physicochemical properties that are reminiscent of the grafted polymer. This has allowed the desi...

Anti-icing Properties on Surfaces through a Functional Composite: Effect of Ionic Salts.

This study reports the potential of a unique functional composite for anti-icing applications. To date, various ionic salt formulations have been applied to prevent ice accumulation on surfaces. However, salt can be removed by external factors and large amounts must be used to attain anti-icing properties. Incorporating hydrophilic salts into hydrophobic mediums and controlled release of specific agents can provide effective solution to reduce ice accumulation on surfaces. Here, we developed functional polymer composites with salt pockets of altered ionic salts consisting of potassium formate (KCOOH), sodium chloride (NaCl), or magnesium chloride (MgCl2). We dissolved ionic salts in hydrophilic gel domains and dispersed in a hydrophobic styrene–butadiene–styrene polymer matrix. Na+ and Cl– ions delayed ice formation by 42.6 min at −2 °C compared to that for unmodified surfaces. Functional composites prepared with the NaCl ionic salt exhibited better anti-icing behavior at −2 °C because of their high concentration compared to that of the composites prepared with KCOOH and MgCl2 ionic salts. We also characterized the release of ionic salts from composite-modified hydrophobic medium separately up to 118 days. Furthermore, we monitored freezing of water on composite-incorporated or composite-coated hydrophobic surfaces in a camera-integrated cold chamber with a uniform temperature (−2 °C). The results demonstrated significant increases in the delay of freezing on composite-incorporated or composite-coated surfaces compared to that on controls. We observed altered effects of each ionic salt on the mechanical, morphological, and functional properties of the composite-incorporated or composite-coated hydrophobic surfaces. Our results suggested that the efficiency of a polymer composite to promote anti-icing behavior on a surface is directly related to the type and concentration of the particular ionic salt incorporation into the composite. This approach is promising and demonstrates significant potential of the ionic salt embedded within polymer composite-modified hydrophobic surfaces to attain delayed icing function.