Affiliations: Department of Chemical Engineering, Nara National
College of Technology, 22 Yata, Yamato-Koriyama, Nara 639-1080, Japan | Department of Food Science & Technology, College
of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, 1866, Kameino, Fujisawa, Kanagawa
252-8510, Japan
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Dr. Kazumitsu Naoe, Department of
Chemical Engineering, Nara National College of Technology, 22 Yata,
Yamato-Koriyama, Nara 639-1080, Japan. Tel.: +81 743 55 6163; Fax: +81 743 55
6169; E-mail: [email protected]
Note: [] Present address: Department of BioEngineering, Nagaoka
University of Technology, 1603-1 Kamitomioka, Nagaoka, Niigata 940-2188, Japan
Abstract: The liquid-liquid extraction of α-lactalbumin based on reverse
micellar organic solvents was investigated. Forward extraction of the protein
in the reverse micellar organic phase from aqueous feed solutions was strongly
dependent on the initial pH of the feed solution and the complete forward
extraction of 0.03 mM α-lactalbumin was successfully achieved at pH 6.0.
The forward extraction percentage steeply decreased with increasing KCl
concentration, while in the NaCl system the forward extraction was independent
on the salt concentration below 1 M. From the circular dichroic measurement,
higher order structure of the recovered α-lactalbumin through the
extraction process was well preserved.
