Chromatographic separation of milk proteins: a review

Membrane Chromatography and Fractionation of Proteins from Whey—A Review

Membrane chromatography (MC) is an emerging bioseparation technology combining the principles of membrane filtration and chromatography. In this process, one type of molecule is adsorbed in the stationary phase, whereas the other type of molecule is passed through the membrane pores without affecting the adsorbed molecule. In subsequent the step, the adsorbed molecule is recovered by an elution buffer with a unique ionic strength and pH. Functionalized microfiltration membranes are usually used in radial flow, axial flow, and lateral flow membrane modules in MC systems. In the MC process, the transport of a solute to a stationary phase is mainly achieved through convection and minimum pore diffusion. Therefore, mass transfer resistance and pressure drop become insignificant. Other characteristics of MC systems are a minimum clogging tendency in the stationary phase, the capability of operating with a high mobile phase flow rate, and the disposable (short term) application of stationary phase. The development and application of MC systems for the fractionation of individual proteins from whey for investigation and industrial-scale production are promising. A significant income from individual whey proteins together with the marketing of dairy foods may provide a new commercial outlook in dairy industry. In this review, information about the development of a MC system and its applications for the fractionation of individual protein from whey are presented in comprehensive manner.

An improved method for the quantitative fractionation of casein mixtures using ion-exchange chromatography

A method for the quantitative analysis of casein mixtures is described. The method uses ion-exchange chromatography at 4 °C on DEAE cellulose, Whatman DE52 in the presence of tris-chloride-urea buffer (pH 8·6), and a NaCl gradient to fractionate the alkylated casein mixtures and a micro-biuret technique to determine protein concentrations. Values for fractions representative of (1) γ-caseins, (2) κ-casein plus some unknown proteins, (3) β-casein, (4) minor αs-caseins and (5) αs1- plus αs0-caseins were obtained, and whole casein from herd bulk milk was found to consist on average of about 2, 13, 36, 11 and 38% respectively of these fractions. Agreement between duplicate fractionations was satisfactory and the recovery of material varied between 94 and 98%.

Milk proteins: molecular, colloidal and functional properties

The proteins of bovine milk are the best-characterized food-protein system. Lactoproteins, which have high biological value, contribute ∼25% of dietary protein in North West Europe, North America and Oceania. However, in protein-rich western diets, milk proteins are frequently more highly valued for their functional properties than for their nutritional qualities. The remarkably high heat stability of the caseinate system permits the manufacture of a range of sterilized, concentrated and dehydrated products while its gelation on very limited proteolysis is the basis of cheese manufacture. Skim-milk powders, caseinates and whey protein concentrates are the most flexible and widely used functional proteins in food processing.

This communication reviews recent studies on milk proteins with respect to molecular and colloidal properties; coagulation by Ca2+, heat and ethanol; and functional properties and their chemical and enzymic modification.

[Separation and determination of protein in cow's milk. 1. Chromatographic methods]

The chromatographic separation of serum proteins of cow's milk on Sephadex and a caseins on DEAE-Cellulose is described. The preparation of samples has influence on the results of separation. The salts were removed from the whey proteins with dialysis and Sephadex-centrifuge-technique. The influence of 2-mercaptoethanol and iodoacetamide of caseins was found out. The results of chromatography of whey proteins obtained on several conditions are given. Conventional chromatography of milk proteins is only recommendable for preparative works.

Two rapid and improved techniques for chromatographic fractionation of casein

The major components of casein, alphas-, beta-, kappa-, and gamma-caseins, were chromatographically fractionated on diethylaminoethyl ion-exchange cellulose in stepwise elution with pH 8, .03 M glycine, or pH 7, .005 M phosphate buffers in the presence of 3.3 M urea and .1% 2-mercaptoethanol. Fractionation was at room temperature (around 25 C) in 4 to 4.5 h. The components showed a reasonable purity electrophoretically. These techniques can be used for quantitative estimation of casein composition.

The quantitative partition of the albumin fraction of milk serum proteins by gel chromatography

A method for the quantitative partition of the albumin fraction of milk serum proteins is described. The partition, which is carried out by chromatography on a column of Sephadex G-100 (2·5×90cm) at 4°C in the presence of 0·02 m-sodium phosphate buffer (pH 6·7) containing 0·1 m-NaCl, yields 4 fractions. By gel electrophoresis it was shown that the fractions represent, in order of elution from the Sephadex, the following: fraction 1, a mixture of the largest proteins present, probably comprising γ-globulins, proteose-peptones and lactoferrin; fraction 2, bovine serum albumin and bovine serum transferrins; fraction 3, β-lactoglobulins; and fraction 4, α-lactalbumins. The protein contents of the various fractions were determined by nitrogen analysis and the results showed that good agreement was obtained between values from duplicate fractionations, and also that the recovery of material was satisfactory. The partition of the albumin fraction was not complete, but at least 90% of the material was found in fractions which represent essentially single proteins. The influences of some aspects of the pretreatment of samples, buffer composition and column preparation are described.