Human milk is a perfect food for infants. The composition of human milk varies with lactation, physiological and genetic factors. Understanding of variations in human milk composition, both at molecular and macromolecular levels, is important for design of infant formulae, as well as understanding nutritional impacts and bioactive potentials of variations. Human milk contains less protein than bovine milk and the casein fraction, being at lower concentration than in bovine milk, is less characterized than its whey components, especially in relation to its post-translational modifications.
The aim of the project is to investigate composition of major human milk proteins with special emphasis of the caseins and their organisation. The activities are part of an ongoing PhD project using proteomics to characterize detailed human milk protein composition.
In this project, human milk will be characterized in relation to micelle size, calcium content and distribution, casein composition and proteolysis degree. Accessible human milk samples will be analysed by Zetasizer, ICP-MS, ion selective electrodes, SDS-PAGE (1 and eventually 2 D), LC-ESI/MS and OPA assay. The project will imply collaboration with current PhD project.
