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Layers of ice of few nanometres thick can remain frozen at human body temperature when grown on top of diamond sheets with a surface layer of sodium, detailed calculations suggest.
The icy coatings could help make diamond-toughened medical implants more biocompatible, according to the Harvard University team who carried out the work.
Thin diamond coatings are found in a growing number of wear-resistant medical implants, such as prosthetics, artificial heart valves and joint replacements. However, diamond can causes clotting by attracting coagulating proteins. Also, its hardness often results in more tissue abrasion than with other implant materials. Ice could lessen these effects by offering a biocompatible interface of water molecules.
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