**Recrystallization in Ice**

**Chapter 7**

**Ice Recrystallization Inhibitors: From Biological**

Recrystallization is a phenomenon that is well documented in the geological and metallurgical literature. In metallurgy, the phenomenon can be formally defined as the process by which deformed grains are replaced by a new set of non-deformed grains that nucleate and grow until the original grains have been entirely consumed. A more precise definition is difficult as this process is quite complex. The phenomenon of recrystallization also occurs in ice, where it is similarly defined as the growth of large ice crystals (or grains) at the expense of small ones. Regardless of the definition or context in which recrystallization is discussed, it is a thermo‐ dynamically driven process which results in an overall reduction in the free energy of the

While the exact mechanism(s) by which the phenomenon of recrystallization occurs remains controversial, the industrial significance and the benefits of preventing this process have been realized for hundreds of years. Within the context of ice, recrystallization has a direct impact on many areas such as glaciology, food preservation and cryo-medicine. However, it has been considerably less studied than the process of recrystallization in areas like metallurgy, materials and geology. This may not be entirely surprising as ice itself has very unique physical and chemical properties. While ice exists in several forms, ice Ih (pronounced "ice one h") is the most common form of ice found on Earth. The unique properties of ice and the complica‐ tions these pose for the detailed study of ice will be described in this chapter with particular emphasis placed upon the efforts to identify and/or design inhibitors of the ice recrystallization process. While inhibitors of ice recrystallization have applications in preventing recrystalliza‐ tion processes in other substances, this review will focus on inhibiting ice recrystallization and

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© 2013 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,

**Antifreezes to Small Molecules**

Chantelle J. Capicciotti, Malay Doshi and

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Robert N. Ben

**1. Introduction**

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/54992

system in which it is occurring.

its impact in cryopreservation.
