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arXiv · 2511.06834

Mobility of Lactose in Milk Powders

Armin Afrough·Pernille Andersen·Tanja Ninette Angelika Weihrauch·Dennis Wilkens Juhl·Serafim Bakalis·Kirsten Gade Malmos·Thomas Vosegaard
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Abstract

Lactose is the major component of milk powders and is normally found to be in a glassy/amorphous state. During storage, lactose is known to participate in physicochemical processes, including crystallization on the surface and reaction with proteins such as $\beta$-lactoglobulin. Lactose needs to be mobile to participate in such processes. However, there is a lack of evidence of its mobility in milk powders. In this study, we demonstrate that some of the lactose becomes mobile when milk powders are exposed to humid air $-$ an inappropriate storage condition. This mobility is evidenced by peaks in magic angle spinning $^{1}\mathrm{H}$ NMR spectra of milk powders in the range of 3.5 ppm to 4.0 ppm, which stem from lactose molecules displaying considerable rotational mobility. These signals have a longitudinal relaxation time constant T1 similar to that of mobile water according to 2D T1$-\delta(^{1}\mathrm{H})$ experiments under magic angle spinning. Furthermore, 2D $^{1}\mathrm{H}-^{13}\mathrm{C}$ HSQC magic angle spinning experiments of skim milk powder demonstrate the same fingerprint as that of lactose in the solution, confirming our observations.

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Armin Afrough, Pernille Andersen, Tanja Ninette Angelika Weihrauch, Dennis Wilkens Juhl, Serafim Bakalis, Kirsten Gade Malmos, Thomas Vosegaard. 2025-11-10. Mobility of Lactose in Milk Powders. https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.06834

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