Bovine colostrum collected within 12h of parturition was de-fatted, de-caseinated, and ultrafiltered (UF) using a 5 kDa cut-off membrane; the resulting UF permeate was freeze dried to create a powder with possible use as a functional food ingredient. Samples representative of five lots of this powdered “colostrum low molecular weight fraction” (CLMWF) were analyzed for chemical composition and nutrient profile. The average contents of fat, moisture, and ash were 0.6%, 1.7%, and 8.3% w/w, respectively. Carbohydrate analysis showed an average of 58.2% w/w lactose monohydrate with no monosaccharides, other disaccharides, trioses, or tetroses detected. The total nitrogen content averaged 1.13% w/w, with 74% of this in the non-protein nitrogen fraction, producing a true protein content of 1.9% w/w. A significant mass fraction of the material (~29% w/w) remains to be characterized. The CLMWF powders were found to contain significant quantities of the minerals calcium (average 870 mg/100g), magnesium, (311 mg/100g), phosphorus (1473 mg/100g), potassium (1705 mg/100g) and sodium (690 mg/100g), the nutrients taurine (average 26.5 mg/100g), L-carnitine (40.5 mg/100g), thiamine (648 mcg/100g) and riboflavin (6991 mcg/100g), and the nucleos(t)ides uridine (55.2 mg/100g) and 5’UMP (18.8 mg/100g), cytidine (3.33 mg/100g) and 5’CMP (4.83 mg/100g) and guanosine (3.45 mg/100g) and 5’GMP (3.57 mg/100g).

In this dissertation, the molecular behaviors of water/ethanol mixtures of different weight fractions inside Au nanotubes of different radii at steady state were investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. Five weight fractions of water/ethanol (0/100, 100/0, 25/75, 50/50, and 75/25) and three radii of Au nanotubes (13, 22, and 31.1 Å) were considered in order to understand the effects of Au nanotube size and water/ethanol fraction on the structural and dynamical behaviors of the water and ethanol molecules. The density profiles show two shell-like formations inside the Au nanotubes because water molecules prefer to adsorb on the wall of Au nanotube. According to the density distribution, the space inside Au nanotubes can be divided into three regions, those of contact, transition, and bulk regions, in order from the interior wall surface to the nanotube center. The bulk region has a lower local weight fraction compared to the system water/ethanol weight fraction. In addition, the local water/ethanol weight fraction in the contact region is higher than that of the system. When the system water/ethanol weight fraction becomes higher, the local water/ethanol weight fraction also becomes higher. In 25/75, 50/50, and 75/25 weight fraction mixtures, the number of H-bonds per water and per ethanol are different from those of pure 100% water and 100% ethanol in the Au nanotube due to the nanoconfinement effect. Moreover, the distribution of number of H-bonds in regions where there is only one material will be similar to the distribution in the corresponding region of the pure material, whether 100% water or ethanol. In all regions, the probability to form different H-bonds is affected significantly by the local weight fraction of water/ethanol. Three radii of Au nanotubes (13, 22, and 31.1 Å) were considered in order to understand the effects of Au nanotube size and water/ethanol fraction on the structural and dynamical behaviors of the water and ethanol molecules. In the transition and bulk regions, diffusion coefficients for water and ethanol molecules become higher due to the weak interaction with Au atoms. The values of diffusion coefficients for water molecules in the contact regions are much lower than for those in other regions and are similar for different water/ethanol weight fractions due to the strong interaction with Au atoms. When the radius of the Au nanotube becomes larger, the values of local weight fraction inside the larger radius Au nanotube become higher than those inside small radius Au nanotubes because the ratio of water number to the nanotube inner surface area becomes higher. In addition, water inside a larger radius Au nanotube has a shorter water-water hydrogen bond lifetime (H-bond) in the contact region because the smaller curvature causes weaker interaction with Au atoms.