Advanced microscopy techniques for revealing molecular structure of starch granules

Ishita Chakraborty, Sparsha Pallen, Yuthika Shetty, Niranjana Roy, Nirmal Mazumder

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

29 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Starch is a major source of our daily diet and it is important to understand the molecular structure that plays a significant role in its wide number of applications. In this review article, microscopic structures of starch granules from potato, corn, rice canna, tania, wheat, sweet potato, and cassava are revealed using advanced microscopic techniques. Optical microscopy depicts the size and shape, polarization microscopy shows the anisotropy properties of starch granules, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) displays surface topography, and confocal microscopy is used to observe the three-dimensional internal structure of starch granules. The crystallinity of starch granules is revealed by second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) provides mechanical properties including strength, texture, and elasticity. These properties play an important role in understanding the stability of starch granules under various processing conditions like heating, enzyme degradation, and hydration and determining its applications in various industries such as food packaging and textile industries.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)105-122
Number of pages18
JournalBiophysical Reviews
Volume12
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01-02-2020

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Biophysics
  • Structural Biology
  • Molecular Biology

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