Effect of amylose/amylopectin content and succinylation on properties of corn starch nanoparticles as encapsulants of anthocyanins.

In this study, succinylated nanoparticles from normal (NPS-N), high-amylose (NPS-H), and high-amylopectin corn starch (NPS-W) were synthesized, characterized, and studied for the nanoencapsulation of the Ardisia compressa anthocyanins. The nanoparticle‒anthocyanin interaction was also investigated. The succinylated starch nanoparticles (S-SNPs) had hydrodynamic sizes of 65-390 nm, degrees of substitution (DS) of 0.014-0.032, ζ-potential values of up to -34 mV and a nanocolloid behavior. NPS-N and NPS-W showed the highest (p < 0.05) encapsulation efficiencies (EE) (52 and 49 %, respectively) compared than NPS-H (45 %). Thereby, the lowest DS obtained, and the branched amylopectin structure favored the EE. The nanoparticle-anthocyanin interaction occurred through hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions and influenced significantly (p < 0.05) the hydrodynamic size and surface properties of the resulting nanocapsules. The relative crystallinity (RC) decreased significantly (p < 0.05) in the S-SNPs, but the nanocapsules mostly experimented a structural recrystallization and showed melting temperatures>150 °C.