RESEARCH PROJECTS
1 Cutting Time Prediction in Enzymatic Coagulation
of Milk
2 Endpoint Prediction in Acid Coagulation of Milk
3 Curd Syneresis Optical Sensor Technology
7 Cheese microstructure and nanotechnology
applications
Milk is a dispersion of milk fat droplets and casein protein micelles in a solution of whey proteins, lactose and salts. Casein micelles are self-assembled association colloids (40-500 nm) made up of hundreds of nano-building blocks of 10-20 nm diameter that are constituted by 10 to 100 individual casein proteins. Milk fat globules are spherical triglyceride droplets (200 nm to 15 μm) surrounded by a lipoprotein membrane (10-50 nm). The sizes of the fat globules can be reduced to the nanoscale (< 100 nm), and the nature of the membrane modified, by homogenization. Whey proteins show self-assembly capabilities under certain conditions (e.g., milk thermal treatment and homogenization) allowing interaction of whey proteins with milk disperse particles.
The goal of this project is to identify nanotechnology strategies to reduce/modify the size of the dispersed milk particles to the nano-scale or using self-assembly properties of the milk particles nano-building blocks to enhance the functionality of milk for cheese making. Nanotechnology offers a huge potential to modify the physical, chemical and biological properties of milk, which would greatly impact cheese yield, quality and functionality.
From Dalgleish et al. (2004)
Fig.2 Electron micrograph of an individual casein micelle. Note the apparent connections between the main micelle and a subsidiary structure, which may be a part of the micelle being dissociated. Note the ring of smaller particles which may represent pieces dissociated from the micelle. Scale bar = 200 nm.