Bacterial Surface Hydrophobicity for Frozen Storage Stability

The patent applies preliminary action by modifying cell surface properties before the freezing or drying process. Specifically, bacteria are treated with hydrophobic modifiers (such as silanes or fluorocarbons) prior to preservation, which prepares the cell surface to resist damage during subsequent freezing or drying. This pre-treatment creates a protective hydrophobic layer that reduces ice crystal formation damage and prevents cell wall collapse during dehydration, thereby significantly improving cell viability without requiring excessive protective additives during the actual preservation process.

The patent applies the extraction principle by removing the need for protective additives during freezing and drying processes. Instead of relying on additives that may interfere with bacterial functionality, the invention extracts the protection function and transfers it to the cell surface itself through hydrophobic modification. The modified cell surface inherently resists damage during freezing and drying without requiring external protective agents, thus eliminating the harmful interference that additives might cause to subsequent bacterial metabolic activities and probiotic functions.

The patent applies parameter changes by fundamentally altering the surface property parameter of bacterial cells - specifically changing from hydrophilic to hydrophobic surface characteristics. This parameter change is achieved through treatment with hydrophobic modifiers that coat the cell surface. The hydrophobic modification prevents water loss during drying and protects cell membranes from collapse, thereby maintaining high cell viability in dry stored products. This parameter change enables long-term storage stability while preserving bacterial functionality, solving the contradiction between storage duration and viability.