Complexation temperature regulation of the ordered structure of “empty” V-type starch

"Empty" V-type starch is a potential carrier for versatile applications in novel ways. This study provided a facile and efficient preparation method of excellent "empty" V-type starch, in which the ordered structure of the carrier was regulated by the complexation temperature without additional annealing treatment. Thymol was used as a model guest material to examine the relationship between the crystalline structure and loading capacity of V-type starch. Increasing the complexation temperature from 30 to 90 °C led to more perfect crystallites in the V-type starch, a significant increase in crystallinity from 25.2 % to 40.2 %, and an increase in enthalpy changes from 6.11 to 14.57 J/g. As the ordered structure contributed to improving the loading capacity of V-type starch, the V-type starch prepared at 90 °C (90-V) showed the highest encapsulation capacity (33.97 mg/g) for thymol. Our findings provide a new paradigm for preparing V-type starch facilely and efficiently.