The Rapid Preparation of Infant Formula for Amino Acid Analysis

Introduction

Properly creating infant formula with an ideal nutrition profile is absolutely critical. For formula-fed babies, infant formula is often the primary source of nutrition for babies in the first six months of life. The goal of formula is to emulate breast milk as closely as possible. For infants with allergies to breast milk, formula is all the more important, as it can be their sole source of nutrition, and the formula must be free of allergens. The FDA mandates minimum levels for 29 different nutrients in infant formula, including proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and micronutrients like vitamins. Some of these nutrients, such as protein, also have maximum levels. Protein levels in infant formula are also of interest because protein levels are higher in infant formula than in breast milk. Research on how this affects the growth of infants and children is still ongoing, but it highlights the importance of being aware of protein levels in infant formula.

Protein content and amino acid content in food is a hot topic among food manufacturers. Traditionally, the amino acid levels in infant formula are measured using AOAC Official Method 2018.06, which is a typical amino acid hydrolysis oven method requiring 24 hours of treatment. Microwave-assisted methods for amino acid hydrolysis utilize a much shorter time treatment, often less than 1 hour. In this work, the CEM Discover Prep^TM microwave-based sample preparation system was used in conjunction with the Waters AccQ-Tag™ Ultra Derivatization Kit to analyze the amino acid content levels in an infant formula standard reference material (SRM). When examining the results, it was determined that the Discover Prep produced results for infant formula hydrolysates that were similar to those determined with traditional methodology, with excellent repeatability. The Discover Prep provides several advantages over traditional methods, such as rapid compressed air cooling and ease of use, and its dielectric microwave heating mechanism provides instantaneous and uniform volumetric heating that helps accelerate the hydrolysis process without compromising recovery or precision.