Use of Microfluidic Electrophoresis in the Analysis of Milk Proteins- Method Improvement

Abstract

Microfluidic electrophoresis (ELFO) has become a widely applicable method that allows the analysis of proteins fractions. ELFO presents advantages that include time reduction low sample consumption, high method efficiency and the integration of results in the context. With sample proper preparation the method becomes accurate and robust and the reagents and consumables used are considerably reduced. This paper describes the adaptation and improvement of a raw milk protein analysis protocol, reported in the standard microfluidic electrophoresis analysis procedures of Agilent Technologies. The described protocol makes adaptations regarding the preparation of biological samples composed of raw milk in the pre-analytical stage with multiple benefits in reporting the final results. Besides the proteins, in the composition of milk, significant percent of fats could be found and the described procedure is practically another step required for the elimination of those interfering substances. This method involves the pre-analytical stage of preparation of raw milk samples, separation and quantification of major milk proteins and total protein content. The improvement proved to have an important beneficial impact on the analysis as the result was very accurate in terms of quantity and quality and also it has drastically reduced the errors in data interpretation of the equipment.