Hydroxypropyl starch

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Hydroxypropyl starch (HPS) is a modified starch that is used as a food additive with the designation E 1440.

It is made from waxy maize starch or potato starch through a chemical reaction with propylene oxide . It thus consists almost exclusively of amylopectin , i.e. branched chains of glucose molecules . In order to prevent the endogenous enzyme amylase from degrading the amylopectin too quickly , the glucose units are partially hydroxypropylated. This hydroxypropylation is also necessary to make starch soluble in water.
Starch ethers are mainly used as a thickening agent to achieve the desired consistency of aqueous products. Today's modern hydroxypropyl starches have a molar mass of around 200,000  Da with a degree of substitution of 59%.

literature

  • G. Tegge: Starch and starch derivatives . Behr´s Verlag, Hamburg 3rd edition 2004, ISBN 978-3899470758
  • A. Venâncio et al .: Evaluation of crude hydroxypropyl starch as a bioseparation aqueous-phase-forming polymer. In: Biotechnology progress 9/1993, pp. 635-9. PMID 7764352
  • TA Norris, JF Kennedy: Production of Hydroxypropyl Starch in a Continuous Static Mixer Reactor. In: Carbohydrate Polymers 29/1996, p. 370