Ozone induced structural variation in OSA waxy rice starch: Effects on the thermal behavior of starch and its...

Waxy rice starch (St) was modified by pre-OSA esterification reaction followed by ozone treatment. The molecular structure of this modified product (OSA-OSt) was characterized, and the thermal behaviors and its stabilized Pickering emulsion were evaluated. ¹HNMR and XPS results discovered that ozone initially oxidized the hydroxyl groups in the amorphous region of starch (preferentially C2/C3) along with a degree of crosslinking, enhancing the molecular orderliness. This led to an increase in water-holding capability (29.15%) and swelling power (52.8 g/g), and a decrease in solubility (0.35%). TGA, RVA, and DSC indicated that oxidation-induced crosslinking within a brief treatment period enhanced the starch's thermal stability. The structural change enabled the formation of a weak gel structure during the heating process, which displayed high thermal and freeze-thaw stability. The work proves ozone is an effective way of improving the thermal behavior of OSA-starch and its emulsion for subsequent applications in numerous food products.