Intro
Novel heat-stable antifreeze protein-polysaccharide conjugate that can improve [IB1] frozen food texture and cellular cryopreservation while maintaining effectiveness after pasteurization.
Background
Frozen foods and cryopreserved tissues suffer significant structural damage from ice recrystallization. During freezing, large ice crystals form and during thawing, they grow even larger, destroying cell structures and compromising food texture. The $190 billion frozen food market is expected to reach $322 billion by 2030, with texture and quality among consumer priorities.
Current solutions face critical challenges:
- Conventional antifreeze proteins (AFPs) lose functionality at elevated temperatures (pasteurization)
- Existing cryoprotectants are often toxic at effective concentrations or provide insufficient protection
Our Innovation
CryoGuard is a novel heat-stable antifreeze conjugate created through covalent bonding of antifreeze protein type III (AFP III) with dextran polysaccharides in a simple, natural reaction.
- Superior thermal stability: Maintains high ice-binding activity even after exposure to 60°C, unlike competing technologies that lose effectiveness during pasteurization
- Exceptional protection: Shows effective inhibition of ice recrystallization at concentrations below 1 μM, significantly outperforming standard AFPs
- Cost-effective production: Uses simple chemistry without expensive additives, overcoming previous commercial barriers
- Food-safe components: Utilizes only deregulated materials already approved for food applications
- Dual functionality: Both prevents ice crystal growth and potentially enables controlled material engulfment into ice, and thus improvement of gel cryostability.
Market advantage: CryoGuard could save frozen food manufacturers in product waste, new frozen dessert lines, and increase premium pricing potential through improved texture quality.
Technology
The CryoGuard conjugate links AFP III primary amines to the anomeric carbon of dextran polysaccharides, creating a heat-resistant complex verified by chromatography. This provides exceptional protection against freezing damage:
- Demonstrated thermal hysteresis (TH) capability preserved even after prolonged heating at 60°C
- Complete ice recrystallization inhibition at concentrations under 1 μM
- Enhanced AFP stability in heated solution, preventing protein aggregation that plagues competing technologies
- Visual evidence shows dramatic ice crystal inhibition compared to control samples
Opportunity
The researchers are seeking an industry partner to collaborate and sponsor additional research. The partner will receive an option to license the intellectual property at the end of the R&D phase. Ideal partners include:
- Ice cream manufacturers ($87B global market)
- Frozen dough producers ($30B global market)
- Cellular agriculture/cultivated meat companies ($12.7B projected market by 2030)
- Medical cryopreservation technology providers
Patents and Publications
Patent application pending for “Heat-stable antifreeze protein conjugate and methods of use in frozen food preservation.”
