Ice recrystallisation inhibiting polymer nano-objects via saline-tolerant polymerisation-induced self-assembly†

Chemical tools to modulate ice formation/growth have great (bio)-technological value, with ice binding/antifreeze proteins being exciting targets for biomimetic materials. Here we introduce polymer nanomaterials that are potent inhibitors of ice recrystallisation using polymerisation-induced self-assembly (PISA), employing a poly(vinyl alcohol) graft macromolecular chain transfer agent (macro-CTA). Crucially, engineering the core-forming block with diacetone acrylamide enabled PISA to be conducted in saline, whereas poly(2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate) cores led to coagulation. The most active particles inhibited ice growth as low as 0.5 mg mL(–1), and were more active than the PVA stabiliser block alone, showing that the dense packing of this nanoparticle format enhanced activity. This provides a unique route towards colloids capable of modulating ice growth.