Preparation and characterization of amorphous granular potato starches (AGPS) and cross-linked amorphous granular potato starches (CLAGPS)

Amorphous granular potato starch (AGPS) was prepared through heat treatment of native potato starch (NPS) at 94 °C with 53% EtOH, while cross-linked amorphous granular potato starch (CLAGPS) was prepared through cross-linking of NPS with sodium trimetaphosphate/sodium tripolyphosphate (STMP/STPP, 99:1) and heat treatment. Light and polarized microscopy showed that both AGPS and CLAGPS maintained their granule shapes but lost birefringence. DSC and XRD of both AGPS and CLAGPS also revealed complete gelatinization. On the other hand, CLAGPS exhibited no RVA pasting viscosity and AGPS had a higher final viscosity than NPS or CLAGPS. AGPS had a higher RS content than gelatinized potato starch, while that of CLAGPS did not increase, despite the cross-linking modification. Thus, AGPS and CLAGPS had distinct physicochemical properties from each other and from NPS, suggesting their potential applicability to the food, textile, and paper industries.