"ISOLATION, CHARACTERIZATION AND USE OF SELF-ASSEMBLING MILK-DERIVED PEPTIDES IN THE SEPARATION OF PROTEIN HYDROLYSATES"

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Milk and whey protein enzymatic hydrolysates have been widely used as a source of bioactive peptides (e.g. antihypertensive, immunomodulatory, etc.). However, developing potent extracts requires that the bioactive molecules are concentrated or even separated from these hydrolysates Our recent work has focused at a peptide fragment from beta-lactoglobulin (b-LG), namely b-LG f1-8, that has been isolated from aggregated material upon concentration of a tryptic hydrolysate of b-LG by reverse osmosis. This peptide sequence was found to have self-assembling properties that leads to the formation of nanofibers and hydrogels at specific concentration, pH and temperature values. In preliminary experiments, we have observed that contacting protein hydrolysates with nanofibers of peptide b-LG f1-8 could modify their peptide composition, suggesting that these nanofibers can adsorb hydrophobic peptides on their surface. The proposed work is based on the research hypothesis that it is possible to isolate milk-derived peptides from complex mixtures by inducing self-assembly. The peptide mixture pre-treated under these conditions will exhibit improved physicochemical stability and the self-assembling peptides can in turn be used in peptide separation. The long-term objective of our research is to develop innovative approaches for the isolation of peptides at large scale. More specifically, our work will focus at developing fundamental knowledge on structure-function characteristics of milk peptides in relation with their ability to form nanostructures that can be used as processing tools in peptide separation. The research program will be initiated using peptide b-LG f1-8 but it is expected that the work will lead to the discovery of other self-assembling peptides from whey proteins. This original approach is likely to open new possibilities for the separation of minor compounds such as bioactive peptides from milk. The research program will provide unique opportunities to train highly qualified personnel (HQP) who will possess a strong background in milk proteins and their processing into hydrolysates and bioactive peptides. This research has a very high potential to generate innovations that will be useful for the Canadian dairy industry.