Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
Non-equilibrium phase transitions of aqueous starch systems
1Food Science Department, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
Abstract:
Experimental data on phase transitions of aqueous starch systems, obtained by thermal analysis (TA) methods, are often indicative of irreversible (non-equilibrium) processes involving various metastable states. The thermal responses usually reflect composite effects from contributions of several opposing processes [e.g. annealing, melting, and (re)crystallization] taking place concurrently during TA. It is important, therefore, to recognize the temperature- and time-dependence of the structure of starch materials, if non-isothermal techniques are used for their characterization. Identifying the pertinent morphological features (supermolecular structure) of each particular system, as well as recognizing the role of water as a plasticizer which depresses the Tg of the amorphous domains, is essential to predict heat/moisture-mediated transformations of this biopolymer. The phase transition behaviour of granular starch and amylose-lipid complexes, as revealed by Differential Scanning Calorimetry and Thermomechanical Analysis, and the metastability of these materials are considered herein with respect to the effects of water and low molecular weight solutes.
Related Concept Videos
Phase Transitions
Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
Phase Diagram
Phase Transitions
Phase Diagrams of Ternary Systems

