Development of functionalized mesoporous silica for adsorption and separation of dairy proteins

Abstract

A class of mesoporous silica material, FDU-12, was synthesized with different pore sizes and amine functionalized to determine its potential to differentially adsorb and separate dairy proteins. The adsorption behavior of the dairy proteins α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin on the amino surface functionalised and unfunctionalised material was examined. It was shown that the pore size of unfunctionalised FDU-12 is an important factor in the protein adsorption capacity. Amine functionalization of FDU-12 significantly increased protein adsorption for larger pore size materials, with a marked difference in the rate of uptake between the two proteins. The kinetics of adsorption were investigated ..