Premium
On the Structure of Native Starch — An Analogue to the Quartz Structure
Author(s) -
Eliasson A.C.,
Larsson K.,
Andersson S.,
Hyde S. T.,
Nesper R.,
Von Schnering H.G.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
starch ‐ stärke
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.62
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1521-379X
pISSN - 0038-9056
DOI - 10.1002/star.19870390502
Subject(s) - amylopectin , branching (polymer chemistry) , quartz , van der waals force , starch , crystallography , chemistry , materials science , molecule , organic chemistry , amylose , composite material
The branching geometry of amylopectin according to chemical degradation studies has been combined with the knowledge of packing arrangement of double helices. The structural organization of the polyglucan chains in the crystalline amylopectin units can be described by an infinite periodic minimal surface, and it is closely related to the structure of high‐quartz with space group P6 4 22. An important feature of the molecular packing is that the van der Waals distance between double helices is very similar to the length of a linkage formed by the α‐1,6‐glucoside branching. The physical properties of starch are finally discussed in relation to the proposed structure.