Differences in the structural properties of three OSA starches and their effects on the performance of high internal phase Pickering emulsions

The emulsifying properties of emulsions are significantly influenced by the structural properties of octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA) starch. The purpose of this work was to elucidate the effect of the structure of OSA starch on its performance as an emulsifier to stabilize Pickering high-internal-phase emulsions (HIPEs). The degrees of substitution (DS) of the three OSA starches were 0.0137, 0.0177 and 0.0236, and their degrees of branching (DB) were 13.96 %, 14.20 % and 14.32 % measured by ¹H NMR, which were sequentially labeled as OSA1, OSA2, and OSA3. The OSA3 starch with higher DS and DB had a lower critical micelle concentration (CMC) (0.11 mg/mL). Its emulsification activity (EAI) and emulsion stability (ES) were 61.8 m²/g and 72.5 min, respectively, which were higher than OSA1 and OSA2 starches. The contact angle of the three OSA starches increased from 45.35° to 80.03° with increasing DS and DB. Therefore, it is hypothesized that OSA3 starches have better emulsification properties. The results of physical stability of HIPEs confirmed the above results. These results indicated that DS and DB have a synergistic effect on emulsion properties, and OSA starch with higher DS and DB values were more conducive to the construction of stable HIPEs systems.