Structural and thermodynamic features of covalent conjugates of sodium caseinate with maltodextrins underlying their functionality.

The sodium caseinate (SCN)-maltodextrin (MD) covalent conjugates were prepared by a food-grade process involving the first step of the Maillard reaction. The covalent conjugates were prepared with different weight ratios of biopolymers (R(MD : SCN) = 0.4; 1; 2; 5) in the system using maltodextrins of strongly different dextrose equivalents (DE), i.e., DE = 2 and 10. We have observed that the covalent conjugation of SCN with MD, in contrast to their simple mixing, improved the protein solubility in an aqueous medium in a wide pH range that was more pronounced in the vicinity of the SCN isoelectric point (pH 3.8-4.4). The extent of SCN solubility was mainly governed by the weight/molar ratio of the biopolymers in the covalent conjugates, R(MD : SCN). Data of static multiangle laser light scattering showed that the revealed increase in the solubility of the conjugates could be predominantly attributable to the dramatic increase in their thermodynamic affinity for an aqueous medium. Which was most pronounced for the maltodextrin with the higher DE (DE = 10). The direct relationship between the increase in the solubility of the conjugates and the increase in their foaming ability, as compared against SCN, has been revealed as a rule both at neutral pH and at the pI. In addition, the found improvement in the protein foaming ability was also defined by both the weight/molar ratio (R(MD : SCN)) and the dextrose equivalent of the maltodextrins attached to the protein.