Protein agglomeration and denaturation during drying

Introduction

Whey protein is one of the most commonly used proteins in the dairy, bakery, and health care industries. This protein is also quite commonly used as a nutritional supplement or additive in formulated foods. To enhance its stability and preservability purpose, whey protein is generally dried and stored as a powder. However, a considerable amount of whey protein is denatured during the dehydration process. It is of practical importance to minimize denaturation of whey protein in drying processes in order to maintain their natural characteristics and to broaden the range of its application. Therefore it is essential to quantify the extent and nature of denaturation kinetics of proteins during the formation of dried protein particles.

 

Techniques

• Electrophoresis (SDS-Page)
• Spectroscopy (Infrared and far-UV CD)
• Differential scanning calorimetry
• Osmometry
• Asymmetric Flow Field Fractionation (AF4)

Requirements/interests

• Interest in analytical work (on small sample sizes)