Characterisation of large scale structures in starch granules via small-angle neutron and X-ray scattering

Small angle scattering (SAS) techniques have a distinguished track record in illuminating the semi-crystalline lamellar structure of the starch granule. To date, there have been few attempts to use SAS techniques to characterise larger-scale structures reported from imaging techniques such as growth rings, blocklets or pores, nor how these structures would modulate the well-known scattering arising from the semi-crystalline lamellar structure. In this study, SAS data collected over an extended q range were gathered from dry and hydrated starch powders from varied botanical sources. The use of neutrons and X-rays, as well as comparing dry and hydrated granules, allowed different levels of contrast in scattering length density to be probed and therefore selected structural regions to be highlighted. The lowest q range, 0.002–0.04 Å−1, was found to be dominated by scattering from the starch granules themselves, especially in the dry powders; however an inflection point from a low contrast structure was observed at 0.035 Å−1. The associated scattering was interpreted within a unified scattering framework with the inflexion point correlating with a structure with radius of gyration ∼90 Å – a size comparable to small blocklets or superhelices. In hydrated starches, it is observed that there is an inflection point between lamellar and q−4 power-law scattering regions at approximately 0.004 Å−1 which may correlate with growth rings and large blocklets. The implications of these findings on existing models of starch lamellar scattering are discussed.