Synthesis of modified potato starches for aqueous solubilization of benzo[a]pyrene

For soil rehabilitation, the surfactant-enhanced remediation has emerged as a promising technology. For this purpose, starch derivatives were difunctionalized by 1,4-butane sultone (BS) and 2-octen-1-ylsuccinic anhydride (OSA). Eight distinct products were obtained under different synthesis conditions. The chemical structural characteristics were investigated by 1H NMR spectroscopy. The compounds were evaluated for their apparent aqueous solubility and their ability to increase the solubility of a hydrophobic pollutant such as benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), used as a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon model. In comparison with native starch, the best obtained compound increased starch apparent aqueous solubility by a factor of 10 (up to 3.50 g/L) and also stimulated 77-fold BaP aqueous solubilization (up to 232.97 μg/L) underlining its very high surfactant property. In this study, the right balance between hydrophobic character (octenyl succinate group (OS) grafted) of starch derivatives and starch apparent aqueous solubility (BS grafted) was highlighted.