Kinetics of Structural Changes in Starch Retrogradation Observed by Simultaneous SANS/FTIR-ATR Measurements.

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Materials Science
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Starch retrogradation analysis typically uses individual methods, hindering correlation of structural changes across spatial scales.
• Understanding starch structure evolution during retrogradation is crucial for food processing and material science.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate potato starch retrogradation using a simultaneous measurement system.
• To correlate nanoscale and short-range structural changes during starch retrogradation.

Main Methods:

• Simultaneous measurement using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR)-attenuated total reflection (ATR).
• Analysis of SANS peak intensity (Imax) for semicrystalline structures and FTIR ratio (R1042/1016) for short-range order.

Main Results:

• SANS revealed increased ordered semicrystalline structures (nanoscale) over time.
• FTIR indicated increased short-range ordered structures, signifying double-helix reformation.
• Short-range structural changes occurred faster than nanoscale semicrystalline changes.

Conclusions:

• Starch retrogradation involves staged structural changes, initiated by short-range ordering followed by nanoscale reassembly.
• The simultaneous SANS/FTIR-ATR method effectively captures multi-scale structural dynamics during starch retrogradation.