Results
Title

Degradation of amylose by ionizing radiation processing.

Authors

Nemţanu, Monica R.; Braşoveanu, Mirela

Abstract

The current study brings to light new aspects of degradation of polysaccharides by physical methods, namely degradation of amylose exposed in the solid state to the accelerated electron beam, in the presence of oxygen, in the range of 10-50 kGy. Effects of irradiation on amylose were investigated by gel-permeation chromatography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. In order to evaluate quantitatively, the radiation degradation of amylose, radiochemical yield of degradation, degradation rate constant, and half value dose of molecular weights were determined. The results indicated the main-chain scission of amylose, which led to the reduction of its molecular weight and molecular weight distribution. Changes of amylose spectral features related to the frequency and intensity of some bands indicated an alteration of the structural integrity induced by the electron beam. The scanning electron micrographs revealed the appearance of smaller fragments by amylose structure disruption as a result of irradiation. Consequently, degradation of amylose in the solid state can effectively be controlled by electron beam irradiation. This novel study may be a useful starting point for preparation or processing of amylose-based matrices by using electron beam treatment.

Subjects

CHAIN scission; IONIZING radiation; IRRADIATION; MOLECULAR weights; AMYLOSE; POLYSACCHARIDES

Publication

Starch / Staerke, 2017, Vol 69, Issue 3/4, p1

ISSN

0038-9056

Publication type

Academic Journal

DOI

10.1002/star.201600027