Casein micelle dispersions into water, NaCl and CaCl2: physicochemical characteristics of micelles and rennet coagulation

Effect of mild thermal and pH changes on the sol-gel transition in skim milk

The present work aimed to improve acid and rennet milk gelation properties with mild thermal and pH changes to skim milk, with emphasis on heating temperatures below the denaturation temperature of whey proteins. We hypothesized the heat-induced, pH-dependent micellar changes, namely the shifts in casein and calcium equilibria between the micellar (or colloidal) and serum phases, result in firmer acid and rennet milk gels and reduced gelation time. Homogenized, pasteurized skim milk was adjusted to pH values in the range of 6.4 to 7.3, heated at temperatures in the range of 50 to 80°C, cooled to refrigeration temperature, and restored to native pH (pH 6.7). Then, acid and rennet gels were made by the addition of glucono-δ-lactone and chymosin, respectively. We monitored the storage modulus (G', Pa) during gel formation with small-amplitude oscillatory shear and the gelation time and maximum G' (G'max, Pa) of acid and rennet gels, were measured at 3 and 2 h, respectively. When skim milk was heated at 50°C for 15 min, there was a 58 and 163% increase in the G'max of acid and rennet gels, respectively, as the pH at heating was raised from pH 6.7 to 7.3. Increases in gel strength were greater for skim milk heated at 60°C for 15 min. There was a positive correlation between G'max of acid gels and the heat-induced casein protein exchanges between the micellar and serum phases on heating milk at pH in the range from 6.4 to 7.3 (r = 0.78). We also found positive correlations between the variation in G'max of rennet gels with the heat-induced, pH-dependent migration of casein (r = 0.83) and calcium (r = 0.80) from the micelle into the serum phase, as determined by PAGE and atomic emission spectroscopy. Under these mild heating temperatures (50 and 60°C), rennet coagulation time was significantly reduced from 45 ± 5 to 27 ± 3 min when the pH at heating was raised from pH 6.7 to 7.3. The ability to enhance milk gelation properties with a scalable pretreatment allows for the expression of novel functionality of casein.

Effect of pH adjustment on the composition and rennet-gelation properties of milk concentrates made from ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis

The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of pH adjustment (initial pH vs. pH 6.50) on the rennet-gelation properties of concentrates made by ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO). Rennet-gelation kinetics were followed by dynamic rheology and κ-casein hydrolysis by reverse-phase HPLC. At initial pH, RO concentrates had better rennet-coagulation behavior than UF concentrates and skim milk, whereas adjusting the pH to 6.50 produced the opposite results. The kinetics of κ-casein hydrolysis were similar in skim milk, and both concentrates and were not affected by pH adjustment. Differences in rennet coagulation were then related to the extent of hydrolysis required to trigger casein micelle aggregation. Small pH adjustments (<0.2 pH unit) enabled the use of RO concentrate with similar rennet-gelation behavior to UF concentrate, despite major compositional differences. This study shows that pH adjustment of RO concentrates can be a simple approach to improve their coagulation properties; however, the mechanisms behind these improvements remain to be elucidated.

Modified water solubility of milk protein concentrate powders through the application of static high pressure treatment

The effects of high pressure (HP) treatment (100–400 MPa at 10–60°C) on the solubility of milk protein concentrate (MPC) powders were tested. The solubility, measured at 20°C, of fresh MPC powders made with no HP treatment was 66%. It decreased by 10% when stored for 6 weeks at ambient temperature (∼20°C) and continued to decrease to less than 50% of its initial solubility after 12 months of storage. Of the combinations of pressure and heat used, a pressure of 200 MPa at 40°C applied to the concentrate before spray drying was found to be the most beneficial for improved solubility of MPC powders. This combination of pressure/heat improved the initial cold water solubility to 85%. The solubility was maintained at this level after 6 weeks storage at ambient temperature and 85% of the initial solubility was preserved after 12 months. The improved solubility of MPC powders on manufacture and on storage are attributed to an altered surface composition arising from an increased concentration of non-micellar casein in the milk due to HP treatment prior to drying. The improved solubility of high protein powders (95% protein) made from blends of sodium caseinate and whey protein isolate compared with MPC powders (∼85% protein) made from ultrafiltered/diafiltered milk confirmed the detrimental role of micellar casein on solubility. The results suggest that increasing the non-micellar casein content by HP treatment of milk or use of blends of sodium caseinate and whey proteins are strategies that may be used to obtain high protein milk powders with enhanced solubility.

Impedimetric biosensor for the assessment of the clotting activity of rennet

Cheese production is relied upon the action of rennet (a mixture of chymosin and pepsin) onto casein micelles of milk. For the first time, the monitoring of this interaction with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used to develop a faradic impedimetric biosensor for the assessment of the clotting activity of rennet, using hexacyanoferrate(II)/(III) couple as a redox probe. Gold electrodes were modified with self-assembled monolayers of different thiols (thioctic acid, dithiobis-N-succinimidyl propionate, and cysteamine), and (artificial) casein micelles were immobilized on the modified gold surfaces. The proposed method is based on the measurement of charge-transfer resistance (R(ct)) changes attributed to the degradation of the negatively charged immobilized casein micelles by rennet to neutral biostructures. This action results in the increase of the flux of the redox probe, which exists in the bulk solution, to the surface of the electrode and, consequently, in the decrease of R(ct). Experimental parameters such as the micelle loading, the reaction time, the concentration of rennet, and the working pH, were optimized. Besides EIS measurements, cyclic voltammetry, FT-IR, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments were also performed before and after the interaction of the immobilized micelles with rennet. Finally, the proposed biosensors were successfully tried for various commercial samples.

Casein micelle dispersions under osmotic stress

Casein micelles dispersions have been concentrated and equilibrated at different osmotic pressures using equilibrium dialysis. This technique measured an equation of state of the dispersions over a wide range of pressures and concentrations and at different ionic strengths. Three regimes were found. i), A dilute regime in which the osmotic pressure is proportional to the casein concentration. In this regime, the casein micelles are well separated and rarely interact, whereas the osmotic pressure is dominated by the contribution from small residual peptides that are dissolved in the aqueous phase. ii), A transition range that starts when the casein micelles begin to interact through their kappa-casein brushes and ends when the micelles are forced to get into contact with each other. At the end of this regime, the dispersions behave as coherent solids that do not fully redisperse when osmotic stress is released. iii), A concentrated regime in which compression removes water from within the micelles, and increases the fraction of micelles that are irreversibly linked to each other. In this regime the osmotic pressure profile is a power law of the residual free volume. It is well described by a simple model that considers the micelle to be made of dense regions separated by a continuous phase. The amount of water in the dense regions matches the usual hydration of proteins.

Use of a Turbidity Sensor to Characterize Micellar Casein Powder Rehydration: Influence of Some Technological Effects

A simplified method to study rehydration of dairy powders was developed for native phosphocaseinate powder. The method involved dispersing powder in a stirred vessel equipped with a turbidity sensor under standardized conditions. The changes of turbidity occurring during powder rehydration highlighted several stages. These stages include particles wetting, and then swelling as the water penetrates into the powder bed, followed by a slow dispersion of the particles. With this tool, some technological effects on powder rehydration were analyzed. Ultrafiltrate incorporation to the casein concentrate before spray drying was found to greatly improve the rehydration, whereas mixing ultrafiltrate powder with casein powder after spray drying did not change the rehydration properties. The effect of granulation on powder rehydration stages was also investigated.

Flow Characteristics of a Pilot-Scale High Temperature, Short Time Pasteurizer

In this study, we present a method for determining the fastest moving particle (FMP) and residence time distribution (RTD) in a pilot-scale high temperature, short time (HTST) pasteurizer to ensure that laboratory or pilot-scale HTST apparatus meets the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance standards for pasteurization of milk and can be used for obtaining thermal inactivation data. The overall dimensions of the plate in the pasteurizer were 75 x 115 mm, with a thickness of 0.5 mm and effective diameter of 3.0 mm. The pasteurizer was equipped with nominal 21.5- and 52.2-s hold tubes, and flow capacity was variable from 0 to 20 L/h. Tracer studies were used to determine FMP times and RTD data to establish flow characteristics. Using brine milk as tracer, the FMP time for the short holding section was 18.6 s and for the long holding section was 36 s at 72 degrees C, compared with the nominal times of 21.5 and 52.2 s, respectively. The RTD study indicates that the short hold section was 45% back mixed and 55% plug flow for whole milk at 72 degrees C. The long hold section was 91% plug and 9% back mixed for whole milk at 72 degrees C. This study demonstrates that continuous laboratory and pilot-scale pasteurizers may be used to study inactivation of microorganisms only if the flow conditions in the holding tube are established for comparison with commercial HTST systems.

1H nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry study of water state in milk protein mixtures

1H NMR signal was used to characterize highly hydrated milk protein dispersions (3-20% dry matter) with various micellar casein concentrations (3-15%), whey protein concentrations (0-3%), lactose concentrations (0-7.5%), CaCl(2) concentrations (0-2 mM), and pH (6.2-6.6). The results showed the predominant effect of micellar casein concentration on water state and were consistent with the three-site relaxation model in the absence of lactose. The relaxation rates observed for these dispersions were explained by the free water relaxation rate, the hydration water relaxation rate, and the exchangeable proton relaxation rate. Hydration water was found to be mainly influenced by casein micelle concentration and structure. The variations in hydration with pH were consistent with those observed for classical measurement of voluminosity observed at this range of pH. The effects of lactose and whey protein content are discussed.