Hydrothermal changes in wheat starch monitored by two-dimensional NMR

The temperature-dependent changes in wheat starch powder and wheat starch-water mixtures were monitored in real-time throughout the heating/cooling program using a classical one-dimensional T1 method and a novel bi-dimensional approach to correlate spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation times (T1-T2) including acquisition of the FID signal. The influence of two controlling factors (i.e. water content (11%, 35-50%, wet basis) and temperature (20-90 °C and back to 20 °C)) on water distribution and starch transformation was investigated. Quantitative analysis of 2D T1-T2 maps greatly facilitated the interpretation of T1 relaxation times, which have been interpreted rather narrowly in the literature when classically measured in one-dimension. Application of the new IR-FID-CPMG sequence allowed distinction between different proton pools with different T1 relaxation times, particularly when the starch gelatinization occurred. The quantification of each T1 component permitted to assign the short T1 to slow cross relaxation phenomena, highlighting proton chemical and/or diffusional exchanges between water and starch.