Substances which inhibit ice nucleation: A review

There are a number of substances described in the published literature which inhibit ice nucleation. Certain bacterial strains, mostly found among the nonfluorescent pseudomonade species, release material into the growth medium which reduces the nucleation temperature of water droplets to below that of distilled water. Extracts from the seeds of food crops including apricot, peach and plum can reduce the nucleation temperature of water droplets and dispersions of silver iodide. Antifreeze glycoproteins can reduce the nucleation temperature of saline solutions. Antifreeze proteins can inhibit the activity of some biological ice nucleators but not others. Certain novel polymers have been shown to inhibit the nucleation activity of dispersions of silver iodide and ice-nucleating bacteria.