Influence of ionizing radiation on physical properties of native and chemically modified starches

Cationic and anionic starches (chemically modified) and native starch (non-modified) were exposed to electron-beam irradiation at doses of 25, 75 and 150 kGy. The increasing solubility in water, due to chain scission and creation of polar groups as already mentioned in the literature, has been confirmed using several physical methodologies. Impedance Spectroscopy (IS) on water solutions was carried out in order to calculate the relaxation parameters of the Cole-Cole model and α and β parameters of the Jones-Dole equation, which show the influence of radiation dose on increasing polarity, decreasing of molecular mass and increasing of electrostatic attraction between chains. Infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) confirm the formation of polar groups that retain water. The aim of this work was to confirm that the control of chain scission and functionalization of starches with irradiation could then be used in a future work to create nanoparticles by complex coacervation in an aqueous base.