What is Ion Exchange Protein?
With all of the different terms associated with protein supplements, it’s not difficult to understand why we get confused. When talking about whey proteins, for example, the term ion exchange is common, but what does it really mean? Ion exchange is one method used to produce protein supplements. This is a process that separates proteins on the basis of their electrical charge. Various solvents are used to create an attractive charge on the proteins, which causes them to migrate toward oppositely charged resin beads in the reaction vessel. The protein can then be removed from the resin beads by reversing the charge to result in a “highly purified” whey protein isolate (WPI).
