Mechanical degradation and changes in conformation of hydrophobically modified starch

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Abstract

In this paper, we study the mechanical degradation and changes in conformation of a branched ultrahigh molar mass biomacromolecule, hydrophobically modified starch, as caused by high-pressure homogenization. The characterization was performed with asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AsFlFFF) with multiangle light scattering (MALS) and refractive index detection. The starch which had been chemically modified with octenyl succinate anhydride (OSA) proved to be very large and polydisperse. Upon high-pressure homogenization, the molar mass and rms radius (r(rms)) decreased, and the extent of these changes was related to the turbulent flow conditions during homogenization. The treatment also induced an increase and scaling with size in the apparent density of the macromolecules. To further study the changes in conformation, it was necessary to calculate the hydrodynamic radii (r(h)). This can be determined numerically from the elution times in the analysis and the flow conditions in the AsFlFFF channel. The results showed that the treatment can cause a dramatic decrease in the quotient between r(rms) and r(h), suggesting major conformational changes. These results together could be interpreted as degradation and "crumpling" of the macromolecule, which would give a decrease in rrms and an increase in apparent density, together with a "fraying" of more outer parts of the macromolecule, which could give rise to the increase in r(h).
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2671-2679
JournalBiomacromolecules
Volume7
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2006

Bibliographical note

The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015.
The record was previously connected to the following departments: Food Technology (011001017), Analytical Chemistry (S/LTH) (011001004)

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Food Engineering
  • Analytical Chemistry

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