Autoclaving alpha lactose

[Pandamonium]

I've been searching about mutarotation forever, and I can't seem to find information about the equilibrium established between alpha and beta lactose. I'm doing some research and I would like to autoclave an entire solution (including alpha lactose), but none of us is sure if that will convert a significant portion of it to beta-lactose. Even the PI isn't sure. He's just always done it that way and doesn't remember why. Does anyone know? The third google hit for "lactose mutarotation" is to an article that I think is helpful, but it refuses to display the article. All I"ve got is a title.

I checked my orgo text, and it's got a small blurb on mutarotation in the saccharides chapter. There's nothing there that really helps answer this question.

 

[thirtythree]

Originally posted by: Pandamonium
The third google hit for "lactose mutarotation" is to an article that I think is helpful, but it refuses to display the article. All I"ve got is a title.

If you have a university nearby, you could check their library website to see if they carry the journal that article is in (Journal of Dairy Science). My university has it, but not for the year of the article (1966).

EDIT: Also, you can search more recent editions on their website. I'm able to view the full articles, which may or may not be because I'm accessing from a university computer.

 

[rezinn]

Try this: http://www.cheque.uq.edu.au/ugrad/theses/2004/pdf/CHEE4006/40334756/40334756.pdf

I noticed it discussed lactose mutarotation kinetics, so it might have some info you want or cite an article that does.

 

[CycloWizard]

If your PI is pretty sure it works, I'd just try it and test it to see if any conversion has happened. You'll have to do this sort of characterization if you want to publish anything resulting from the process anyway. But, of course, a month in the lab can save you a day in the library.

 

[Pandamonium]

Thanks rezinn!

How on earth did you find that article? It's exactly what I was looking for! I was kind of hoping that the equilibria wouldn't shift drastically until 300+ degrees, but the thesis tells me it shifts quickly as low as 50 degrees. If alpha were stable in solution at higher temperatures, I could throw everything into my solutions and sterilize them in the autoclave, but I guess the lactose must be added separately, at the very end.

 

[rezinn]

Just guessing the right phrase to stick into google. I know how a tiny oversight can screw up an entire project so it's good you have an eye for detail.