The hidden world of amorphous ice
"I moved from Kazakhstan to Sweden to pursue my PhD and am now a postdoctoral researcher in the Structural Dynamics of Aqueous Solutions (SDAQS) group. I completed and defended my PhD thesis at Fysikum while caring for my infant daughter", says Aigerim Karina. Her research focuses on amorphous ice and protein diffusion in cryogenic solutions. Amorphous ice is often described as a solid form of water that retains the disordered structure of a liquid. Unlike ordinary ice, it lacks a crystalline arrangement. This is desirable for storing proteins and other biological materials because crystalline ice can damage delicate structures during freezing.
Postdoctor Aigerim Karina. Photo: Gunilla Häggström
"From the start, I was really more interested in chemistry than physics. I completed my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry at Eurasian National University in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
During my Master's studies, I completed a research internship at the University of Cologne, working on a project in physical chemistry. That experience sparked my interest in the interface between chemistry and physics. In 2019, I started my PhD in Chemical Physics at Fysikum, the Department of Physics at Stockholm University. I found chemistry and math very logical, whereas physics initially felt more abstract. At my university time, I was also giving private lessons in math for school students, which strengthened my appreciation for analytical thinking", says Aigerim Karina.
Her PhD supervisors, Professor Katrin Amann-Winkel and Professor Anders Nilsson, guided her in the hidden and anomalous world of water. One way to explore these unusual properties was through amorphous ice, the main focus of her PhD research. Today, she's part of Professor Foivos Perakis’s research group, which focuses on water’s role in biophysical processes.
"I've been a postdoc since 2025. I came back right after my parental leave and PhD defense. Given my PhD work on amorphous ice and the research focus of the SDAQS group, moving into protein cryopreservation felt like a natural next step. My research explores how water and proteins behave in cryogenic conditions. This is relevant for applications ranging from understanding fundamental properties of water, cryoprotectants, and proteins to improving cryopreservation techniques.
Glycerol, a cryoprotectant that we use in one of the studies, affects water’s properties in different ways depending on the concentration. Also, proteins themselves change water’s behavior; therefore, these cryogenic systems are quite complex.
Using advanced X-ray methods, infrared spectroscopy, and cryogenic experiments, we investigate how these systems change structure, move, and transform at very low temperatures.
”I am particularly fascinated by phase transitions, metastable states, and disordered materials, working at the intersection of chemical physics, biophysics, and soft matter research. I want to learn about water's role in crygenic solutions."
Aigerim recently visited two of Europe’s leading synchrotron facilities, DESY in Hamburg, to study the diffusion of nano particles and ferritin proteins in amorphous ice and ESRF in Grenoble, to investigate the dynamics of cryopreserved antibody solutions during recovery.
"I'm currently analyzing the large data sets generated by these experiments. Water’s role in the storage of biological materials is far more complex than one might think and understanding that complexity is essential for developing better cryopreservation methods. Advances in this area could contribute to more reliable storage of biological products and help reduce unnecessary losses during transport and long-term preservation."
Last updated: 2026-06-08
Source: Department of Physics