Adsorption capacity and cold-water solubility of honeycomb-like potato starch granule

Honeycomb-like granules, with 2-4 μm pores on the surface, were prepared by heating potato starch suspensions in water at the pasting temperature. These granules with a yield of 84% were most amorphous (relative crystallinity 1.9%). Their total pore area was 0.668 m²/g, porosity was 73.4%, and mean particle size (D₅₀) was 154.3 μm. The molecular weights (M_W) of honeycomb-like granules were: amylopectin, 8.7 × 10⁷ g/mol; amylose, 3.1 × 10⁵ g/mol, close to those of native starch. The chain length distribution profiles of honeycomb-like granules were similar to those of native starch, while the proportions of B2 and B3 chains were higher. The water and oil adsorption of honeycomb-like granules were about 1.5 and 2.4 times those of native starch, respectively; and the cold water solubility of honeycomb-like granules was 88.5%, while native starch showed no solubility in cold water. Thus honeycomb-like starch granules have the potential to be applied as adsorbents, thickeners and adhesives for their dispersibility, adsorption capacity and cold water solubility.