Quantitation of alpha S1-casein aggregation by the use of polyfunctional models.

A model for the coagulation of Ca2+ alpha S1- caseinate is described wherein the casein molecules are considered to aggregate as polyfunctional units. The functionalities on the protein molecules are produced as a consequence of the binding of Ca2+, and the multiple equilibria which are established during this binding produce a distribution in which not all casein molecules have the same functionality. The theory is compared with experimental data of the precipitation reaction, and is shown to provide an adequate quantitative description of the precipitation.