The Refractive Index of Human Milk Serum: Natural Variations and Dependency on Macronutrient Concentrations.

The refractive index (RI) of human milk serum (also known as whey, milk soluble fraction or milk plasma) depends on the individual molecular species dissolved in the serum and their concentrations. Although the human milk serum RI is known to influence milk analysis methods based on light scattering, the RI dependency on human milk serum composition is currently unknown. Therefore, we systematically evaluate how the RI depends on natural variations in macronutrient concentrations in the soluble fraction.

Human milk fat globule size distributions: Comparison between laser diffraction and 3D confocal laser scanning microscopy.

Milk fat globules (MFGs) in human milk provide energy to breastfed infants and support infant development. Accurate measurements of MFG size distributions are important to better understand MFG function and origin, as well as the influence of MFG size on milk composition analysis methods. Nevertheless, commonly used laser diffraction systems have never been thoroughly validated for size distribution measurements in human milk.