ABSTRACT
Bioactive peptides are protein fragments (i.e., 3–20 amino acid residues) that show a positive behavior on body function and human health maintenance due to their biological properties. They can be applied in drug production and, mainly, in food development, with a great influence on technological features such as water and oil retention capacities, viscosity and foaming, besides acting as an acidity regulators, sweeteners, color-preserving agents, emulsifiers, flavor enhancers, etc. In general, bioactive peptides are found in complex matrices with other compounds that can interfere with their applicability; thus, purification techniques must be applied to separate the target peptide from the mixture. Membrane technology is a fractionation technique applied successfully in peptide separation due to its mild operating conditions, which allows maintaining the biological activities and integrity of the target molecule. Moreover, membrane technology is recognized by its high selectivity, non-use of chemicals or additives, high-energy saving, feasible scale-up and integration with other separation techniques, and applicability in a continuous operation mode in reactors. In this sense, this chapter provides an overview of the main aspects of membrane technology in peptide fractionation: membrane-based processes applied to obtain peptides with different sizes and properties; operational conditions and membrane material to fractionate peptides; recent trends of membrane technology to obtain and separate peptides from several sources and impact of membrane separation in the biological activities of peptides.
