Spherulitic crystallization in starch as a model for starch granule initiation
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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Analysis and Specification of Starch Granule Size Distributions
Published on: March 4, 2021
Gregory R Ziegler1, John A Creek, James Runt
1The Pennsylvania State University, 116 Borland Lab, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801, USA. grz1@psu.edu
Abstract:
The influence of cooling rate and quench temperature on the formation of spherulitic morphology in heated mung bean starch is reported. Spherulites were obtained for a wide range of cooling rates (2.5-250 degrees C/min), provided the system was heated to 180 degrees C and then cooled below 65 degrees C. Branched crystalline structures were also observed, as was a gellike morphology. The dissolution temperature for spherulitic material ranged between 100 and 130 degrees C. A second dissolution endotherm was observed between 130 and 150 degrees C in systems containing gellike material. Spherulites revealed B-type X-ray diffraction patterns. Spherulitic crystallization of starch following phase separation is proposed as a model for starch granule initiation in vivo.
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