{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]],"date-time":"2026-09-18T05:04:32Z","timestamp":1789707872705,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,12]],"date-time":"2026-09-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789171200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Gels"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The use of a composite cryoprotectant to maintain the quality of freshwater crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) during frozen storage was investigated in this study. Chitosan (CTS) and carrageenan oligosaccharides (CG) are natural hydrogel-forming polysaccharides that serve as moisture barriers. The effects of different concentrations of CTS (0\u20131.5%), CG (0\u20131.0%), antifreeze proteins (AFPs, 0\u20130.25%), and tea polyphenols (TP, 0\u20130.03%) on crayfish muscle tissue were evaluated by measuring water-holding capacity (WHC), total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). Based on single-factor experiments, a three-factor, three-level response surface methodology (RSM) was applied with WHC as the response variable. The results showed that a maximum WHC of 71.65 \u00b1 0.46% was obtained under the optimal treatment, comprising 0.81% CG, 0.61% CTS, and 0.17% AFPs. This study provides a theoretical basis for developing composite cryoprotectants and frozen pre-cooled products from freshwater crayfish, as well as a reference for the application of polysaccharide-based hydrogels in aquatic product frozen preservation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/gels12090836","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T13:05:26Z","timestamp":1789391126000},"page":"836","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Effects of Hydrogel-Forming Composite Cryoprotectants on the Quality of Frozen Freshwater Crayfish (Procambarus clarkii)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Diejun","family":"Jia","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Life Sciences and Medical Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China"},{"name":"School of Modern Agriculture and Food Engineering, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Haoran","family":"Zhuo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Modern Agriculture and Food Engineering, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuxi","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Modern Agriculture and Food Engineering, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9480-0310","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Longwei","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Jianghuai Agricultural Product Fine Processing and Resource Utilization of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Anhui Engineering Research Center for High Value Utilization of Characteristic Agricultural Products, School of Food and Nutrition, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lijuan","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Modern Agriculture and Food Engineering, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Junhao","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Modern Agriculture and Food Engineering, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuan","family":"Fu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Modern Agriculture and Food Engineering, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiacheng","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Modern Agriculture and Food Engineering, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lijie","family":"Shen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Modern Agriculture and Food Engineering, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ke","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Modern Agriculture and Food Engineering, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuxia","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Modern Agriculture and Food Engineering, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3782-0833","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shuibing","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Modern Agriculture and Food Engineering, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4384-7060","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tao","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food Science and Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315800, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yang, W. 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