Albumin

Description

A naturally occurring, water-soluble protein found in Egg white , Milk, and Blood. When spelled as Albumen, the use generally refers to egg white proteins used in the food industry and in 19th century photographic emulsions. Albumin is a strong, coagulating protein that is used in adhesives, paper coatings, lithographic, and photographic emulsions, textile dyeing, gilding leather, paint binders, and varnishes. Dried albumin powder is yellowish and forms a colorless solution in water. Albumin protein will remain water soluble used unless heated to temperatures above 50C (122F) or exposed to intense or long-term light. Medicinally, it is used as an antidote for mercury poisoning.

See also Casein.

Synonyms and Related Terms

albumen; egg white; albúmina (Esp.); albumine (Fr.); albumina (It.); albumina (Port.)

Physical and Chemical Properties

Soluble in water, ethanol.

Resources and Citations

• John S. Mills, Raymond White, The Organic Chemistry of Museum Objects, Butterworth Heineman, London, 2nd ed., 1994

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 22

• Matte Paint: Its history and technology, analysis, properties and conservation treatment, Eric Hansen, Sue Walston, Mitchell Bishop (ed.), J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, Vol. 30 of AATA, 1993

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000