Fractionation of lactoperoxidase and lactoferrin from bovine whey using a cation exchange membrane

A microporous membrane containing immobilized sulfonic acid moieties was used for the rapid fractionation of the cations lactoperoxidase (LP) and lactoferrin (LF) from whey. The breakthrough curves of LP and LF, the LP activity and LF concentration in the elution peaks for different whey loading volumes, and the stability of membrane performance over repeated cycles of loading and elution were measured. Recovery was unaffected by an 8-fold scale-up exercise and repeated cycling, and was 73 +/- 6% for LP and 50 +/- 5% for LF. The membrane system was more rapid, smaller in size, and used a higher flow rate than traditional bead-based systems.