Partitioning of α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin from cheese whey in aqueous two-phase systems containing poly (ethylene glycol) and sodium polyacrylate

•α-Lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin was partitioned in a new aqueous two phase system.•The optimized system presented high extraction yield and selectivity.•Thermodynamic analysis was made based on the results of microcalorimetry.•The forces governing the partition of both proteins were readily described.•The system presented high potential for fractionating these proteins.

Partitioning behavior of the whey proteins α-lactalbumin (α-la) and β-lactoglobulin (β-lg) in aqueous two-phase systems prepared with poly ethylene glycol (PEG) and sodium polyacrilate (NaPA) was investigated as a function of pH and polymer concentrations. It was observed that α-la concentrated in the PEG phase while β-lg concentrated in the NaPA phase. Response surface methodology was applied to optimize protein partitioning and to achieve the best conditions for their fractionation. Thermodynamic analysis based on isothermal titration microcalorimetry indicated that the partitioning of α-la was accompanied by endothermic heat and was entropically driven, while β-lg partitioning was accompanied by exothermic heat and was enthalpically driven at low polymer concentrations and entropically driven at high polymer concentrations. Purification and yield parameters were determined using fresh whey and the results allowed for conclusion of the great applicability of this new system for α-la and β-lg fractionation.