Characteristics and ethylene encapsulation properties of V-type linear dextrin with different degrees of polymerisation

Abstract The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of preparation method on the characteristics and ethylene loading capacity of V-type linear dextrin (LD). LD with different degrees of polymerisation were obtained from debranched starch by gradient ethanol precipitation. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of samples obtained by precipitation and anti-solvent precipitation presented A + V-type crystalline structure. However, the percentage of V-type structure of samples obtained by anti-solvent precipitation was significantly higher than for samples prepared by precipitation, which was further confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), and molecular dynamics simulation supported the XRD and NMR results. The ethylene encapsulation capabilities of samples fabricated by different methods were in range of 1.15–4.68 cm3/g. Ethylene release from V-type LD was a physical process at different storage temperatures, and the higher percentage of V-type structure, the slower release rate. Thus, a higher V-type structure content was beneficial for encapsulation of gaseous molecules.