Atmospheric pressure plasma jet pretreatment to facilitate cassava starch modification with octenyl succinic anhydride

Cassava starch (CS) was pretreated with atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ), followed by esterification with octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA). This study was the first report investigating the effect of APPJ on CS modification with OSA. Results showed that APPJ pretreatment could change the morphological characteristics and crystallinity of CS. Consequently, the degree of substitution and reaction efficiency significantly improved compared with the unpretreated CS (P < 0.05). In Confocal laser scanning microscopy, the fluorescence intensity of OSA-modified CS pretreated with APPJ for 10 min and 15 min was higher than those pretreated with APPJ for 1, 3, and 5 min. The onset temperature and enthalpy (Delta H) of native starch decreased after APPJ pretreatment and further decreased by OSA modification. APPJ-OSA-CS also showed better emulsion stability and emulsion activity. This study demonstrated that APPJ could be used as a novel approach to facilitate starch modification with OSA.

Automated summary

Atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) pretreatment of cassava starch (CS) followed by esterification with octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA) resulted in improved degree of substitution, reaction efficiency, emulsion stability, and emulsion activity compared to unpretreated CS. Morphological characteristics and crystallinity of CS were changed by APPJ pretreatment, leading to further improvements in properties after OSA modification. This study demonstrated that APPJ could serve as a novel approach to facilitate starch modification with OSA.