Study on structure-function of starch by asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation coupled with multiple detectors: A review

Starch is one of the most abundant, renewable, non-toxic, and biodegradable polysaccharides, mainly comprising amylose and amylopectin. The physicochemical properties and structure of starch affect the quality of starch-based products. Therefore, the accurate characterization of the physicochemical properties and structure of starch is important to obtain products that meet specific functions. Recently, asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation coupled with multi-angle light scattering (MALS) and differential refraction detectors (dRI) (AF4-MALS-dRI) has attracted great attention in the separation and characterization of starch. In this review, the structure and functions of starch characterized by AF4-MALS-dRI are summarized. The principle and important characterization parameters of AF4 are introduced. The starch structure-function relationship is deeply investigated owing to utilization of AF4-MALS-dRI. Besides separation of starch, AF4-MALS-dRI can provide more information about starch sample, such as radius of gyration (Rg), hydrodynamic radius (Rh), molar mass (Mw), apparent density (ρ), and conformation (Rg/Rh) of starch molecules. These parameters can be further used to investigate the structure-function relationship of starch.