Fractionation and characterisation of hard milk fat crystals using atomic force microscopy
Date
2019
Authors
Sebben, D.A.
Gao, N.
Gillies, G.
Beattie, D.A.
Krasowska, M.
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Journal article
Citation
Food Chemistry, 2019; 279:98-104
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Abstract
The hard milk fat (HMF) fraction of milk fat was isolated via dry, thermal fractionation, followed by a solvent washing process. The resulting HMF crystals were visibly free of entrapped liquid fat, and subsequently characterised by thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, and electron microscopy. The HMF crystals were found to be mostly β' and β'<sub>2</sub> crystalline structures, with a lamellar thickness of 42.7-44.1 Å. Additionally, crystal size was determined to be ≥1 μm in length and 0.4-1 μm in width. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to further characterise the HMF crystals. AFM enabled 3D mapping and visualisation of crystal layering, as well as simple determination of layer thickness (∼4.2 ± 0.8 nm); a value in close agreement with the results obtained via X-ray analysis. The AFM characterisation approach provides a simple method of characterising HMF crystals, without suffering the limitations of other widely used techniques.
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Data source: Supplementary data, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.11.136.
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Copyright 2018 Published by Elsevier