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Starch nanoparticles as a new ice crystal nucleator in Lactobacillus bulgaricus CICC 6097 cryoprotection
Sun Zihan1, Liu Lu1, Wang Tao1
1College of Biological Science & Biotechnology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Forest Food Processing and Safety, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China.
Abstract:
This work aimed at studying the cryoprotective effect of starch nanoparticles (SNPs) as ice nucleators on Lactobacillus bulgaricus CICC 6097 and exploring the protective mechanism. SNPs with a diameter of 363 nm were obtained, which possessed special properties to enhance ice nucleation and blunt ice crystals edges, and can be wrapped around the surface of bacteria form a protective barrier, thus maintaining the integrity of cell membranes and improving the survivability of L. bulgaricus CICC 6097 from 36.09% to 75.56%. However, SNCs solution formed ice crystals with obvious spikes during freezing, which was harmful to bacteria survival. Therefore, SNPs addition is a possible strategy for increasing viable cell counts during freezing. To the best of our knowledge, this report is the first to demonstrate the cryoprotective effect of ice nucleator on lactic acid bacteria.
