Cytotoxicity, structural, conformational, and techno‐functional properties of α‐lactalbumin nanostructured aggregates

Abstract

AbstractProtein nanostructures can be used in food applications to improve the techno‐functional properties of a food formulation. This study aims to find the best conditions for the production and conformational change of α‐lactalbumin nanostructured aggregates. The criteria to determine the best operating conditions to produce α‐lactalbumin nanostructured aggregates were intensification of foaming and emulsification, techno‐functional proprieties, cytotoxic, and antibacterial activity of nanostructures compared with native α‐lactalbumin. Conformational alterations occurred in the α‐helix and sheet‐β protein structures. The size obtained by dynamic light scattering was 163.84 nm with a polydispersity index of 0.29. The nano protein improved the techno‐functional property compared to the native protein. Additionally, nanostructures had no cytotoxic effect and were innocuous to bacterial activity. Thus, this study presents the best conditions to produce α‐lactalbumin nanostructured aggregates with improved properties that allow new food industry applications.