The separation of GMP from milk whey using the modified chitosan beads

Abstract

The cationic property of chitosan was used to adsorb glycomacropeptide (GMP) molecules from milk whey proteins. β-cyclodextrin was immobilized to native chitosan beads by cross-linking with 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HMDI). The resultant modified beads (CS-HMDI-BCD) presented superior adsorption affinity and capacity towards GMP. At pH 3.0, 90.23% of GMP was adsorbed with a maximum adsorption capacity corresponding to 12.87 mg of sialic acid/g-adsorbent. Desorption experiments showed that the modified beads could be regenerated and used in many cycles without significant decreases in the capacity and selectivity.