The inhibition of ice crystallization is investigated by molecular dynamics simulations with atomistic models. New insights into melting of ice by salts are provided in terms of water exchange between ice and liquid water. It occurs in two stages: association of water molecules with ice surface is reduced and then dissociation from ice surface is enhanced, resulting in the decrease of the number of water molecules in ice. When the peptides abundant in collagen hydrolysates are placed in the vicinity of ice/water interface, the growth of ice crystal is significantly retarded. The presence of a specific residue, proline, confers a better retardation of ice growth. This study suggests that short peptides readily available can be utilized to inhibit the ice growth when engineered with specific residues.
