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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Analysis and Specification of Starch Granule Size Distributions
Published on: March 4, 2021
Nanostructural analysis of starch components by atomic force microscopy
J M C Dang1, F Braet, L Copeland
1Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
Abstract:
Morphological and structural features of starch from potato (Solanum tuberosa) and rice (Oryza sativa) have been examined using atomic force microscopy. Amylose from potato and rice was observed in aggregated structures, which are suggested to be a result of retrogradation during sample preparation. The degrees of polymerization of amylose from potato and rice starches were calculated from the mean contour lengths of the observed structures to be approximately 1440 and 1860, respectively. Potato amylopectin appeared as a highly branched and extended molecule. Our results show that atomic force microscopy provides a useful method for examining the fine structural features and estimating the dimensions of starch molecules.
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