Adsorption of hydrophobically modified anionic starch at oppositely charged oil/water interfaces

In this paper we study the adsorption at cationic emulsion droplets of starch which had been hydrophobically modified with octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA), a modification which also renders the starch anionic. Emulsions were formed with didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) after which the OSA-starch was added. The emulsions were separated by centrifugation and the surface load of OSA-starch was determined through serum depletion. The results show the adsorbed amounts can become very high, in some cases reaching approximately 40 mg/m(2). The surface load correlates positively with the surface charge density of the starch which depends on the degree of substitution, rms radius and molar mass. Furthermore, the surface load obtained depends on the ratio between polymer surface charge density and the interface charge density which could be varied experimentally by combining various amounts of DDAB and dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine (DOPC) in the formation of the emulsion. The very high surface loads should correspond to very thick adsorbed layers. Thus, OSA-starch should be appropriate for encapsulation applications provided a suitable adhesion substance is employed. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.