Structural characterization of amylose-long chain fatty acid complexes produced via the acidification method

Amylose molecular inclusion complexes, or V-amylose, have been studied as a possible nano-sized delivery system for unsaturated fatty acids. This study aimed to study three different structural levels of V-amylose produced via an acidification method. Molecular attributes were studied using XRD, DSC and C-13 CP/MAS NMR, nanostructures using SAXS and AFM, and the microscopic level by SEM and AFM. C-13 labeled fatty acids revealed head groups were entrapped in both COO-and COOH forms. SAXS data, showed that conjugated linoleic acid yield particles with the highest values for parameters like average crystalline lamellar thickness (phi = 0.46) and characteristic particle dimension (R-g = 1011). AFM revealed surface roughness increases from 7.72 +/- 4.34 nm to 11.54 +/- 6.05 nm during the formation of V-amylose. The insights described contribute to the understanding of V-amylose structure and help establish a model for V-amylose structure which may prospectively be used in the fabrication of a novel delivery system. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.