Composition-antifreeze property relationships of gelatin and the corresponding mechanisms

Shichen Zhu; Yan Jin; Jiehang Yu; Wenting Yang; Jing Lian; Zhengpeng Wei; Dong Zhang; Yuting Ding; Xuxia Zhou

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131941

Composition-antifreeze property relationships of gelatin and the corresponding mechanisms

Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 Apr 27;268(Pt 2):131941. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131941. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Shichen Zhu¹, Yan Jin², Jiehang Yu², Wenting Yang², Jing Lian³, Zhengpeng Wei⁴, Dong Zhang⁵, Yuting Ding¹, Xuxia Zhou⁶

Affiliations

¹ College of Food Science and Technology, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Green, Low-carbon and Efficient Development of Marine Fishery Resources, Hangzhou 310014, China; National R&D Branch Center for Pelagic Aquatic Products Processing (Hangzhou), Hangzhou, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Seafood Deep Processing, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian 116034, China.
² College of Food Science and Technology, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Green, Low-carbon and Efficient Development of Marine Fishery Resources, Hangzhou 310014, China; National R&D Branch Center for Pelagic Aquatic Products Processing (Hangzhou), Hangzhou, China.
³ Comprehensive service center of market supervision and management of Rongcheng, Shandong, China.
⁴ Taixiang Group, Rongcheng Taixiang Food Products Co., Ltd., Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Frozen Prepared Marine Foods Processing, Rongcheng 264300, China.
⁵ College of Food and Bioengineering, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China.
⁶ College of Food Science and Technology, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Green, Low-carbon and Efficient Development of Marine Fishery Resources, Hangzhou 310014, China; National R&D Branch Center for Pelagic Aquatic Products Processing (Hangzhou), Hangzhou, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Seafood Deep Processing, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian 116034, China. Electronic address: xzhou@zjut.edu.cn.

PMID: 38685545
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131941

Abstract

The inherent functional fractions (gelation and ice-affinitive fractions) of gelatin enable it as a promising cryoprotectant alternative. However, the composition-antifreeze property relationships of gelatin remain to be investigated. In this study, the HW-PSG and LW-PSG fractions of gelatin from fish scales were obtained, according to the critical gelation conditions and ice-binding measurements, respectively. Thermal hysteresis (THA) value, associated with ice nucleation, of LW-PSG was higher than that of HW-PSG. Besides, the relatively low-sized ice crystals (210-550 μm²) indicated that HW-PSG showed strong ice recrystallization inhibition (IRI) ability, compared to other groups. These results suggested that LW-PSG inhibited ice nucleation, while HW-PSG displayed the strong IRI ability. Furthermore, the antifreeze mechanisms were clarified through IRI measurements and molecular dynamics simulation. The minimum size of ice crystals was found for HW-PSG gels with dense microstructure, suggesting the HW-PSG retarded the growth of ice crystals by restricting the migration and phase transformation of water molecules. The hydrogen bond interactions between the ice crystal surface and ASN1294 and PRO1433 residues of LW-PSG, and hydrophobic interactions contributed to inhibiting the nucleation of ice crystals. This study provided some references to further enhance antifreeze performance of gelatin by modulating fragment composition.

Keywords: Antifreeze mechanisms; Functional fractions; Gelatin; Ice nucleation inhibition; Ice recrystallization inhibition.