The serological relationship of bovine whey albumin to serum albumin.

Serological reactions are becoming increasingly important in the development of quantitative methods for the determination and characterization of native proteins. These reactions provide a basis for analytical methods that combine high sensitivity with a high degree of specificity. In contrast to conventional methods, which distinguish different proteins by their chemical and physical properties, serological methods reveal likeness or difference in structure. In the preceding paper, Polis, Shmukler, and Custer (1) have described the isolation of a crystalline albumin present in trace amounts in the whey of cow’s milk. They reported that this crystalline milk albumin exhibited physical and chemical properties attributable to crystalline bovine serum albumin. Our report describes the application of the Schultz-Dale (2, 3) technique to establish the identity of these two proteins.