Design and applications of antifreeze polysaccharide-based hydrogels for cryoprotection and biotechnological advancements: A review

Polysaccharide-based hydrogels possess desirable characteristics such as flexibility, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Nevertheless, these hydrogels frequently lose their inherent traits and functionality under low-temperature circumstances, which significantly restricts their potential applications in cold environments. Antifreeze hydrogels provide a promising solution to this challenge by maintaining their properties at cold temperatures, showcasing remarkable advantages. This review commences with a bibliometric analysis via VOS Viewer to acquire a comprehensive comprehension of the development tendencies in antifreeze hydrogels. It subsequently summarizes diverse antifreeze mechanisms in polysaccharide-based hydrogels, encompassing solute ion modification, organic alcohol modification, ion gels, eutectic gels, and intrinsic antifreeze properties through molecular chain polymerization. Additionally, the review explores the applications of antifreeze hydrogels in food preservation, flexible wearable devices, and energy storage. Finally, the future directions for the development of antifreeze polysaccharide-based hydrogels are deliberated, with an emphasis on the utilization of natural polysaccharide resources to create hydrogels that integrate antifreeze performance, mechanical properties, and stability, thereby facilitating advancements in related industries.