Proteins and Casein
A protein is a naturally occurring, unbranched polymer in which the monomer units are amino acids. More specifically a protein is a peptide in which at least 50 amino acids residues are present. Proteins can be classified into two types: fibrous and globular. Fibrous proteins are proteins in which peptide chains are arranged in long strands or sheets. Globular proteins are proteins that tend to fold back on themselves into compact spheroidal shaped units. Globular proteins do not form intermolecular interactions between protein units and are more easily solubilized in water as colloidal suspensions than fibrous proteins are. They are "complete proteins" or "storage proteins" because they contain all the amino acids essential for building blood and tissue, and can sustain life and provide normal growth even if they are the only proteins in the diet. Milk contains three kinds of proteins: caseins, lactalbumins, and lactoglobulins, all of which are globular proteins.
The main protein in milk is casein. Casein is a phosphoprotein which has phosphate groups attached to the hydroxyl groups of some of the amino acids side-chains. Casein exists in milk as a calcium salt, calcium caseinate. It is actually a mixture of three similar proteins, alpha, beta and