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Review
. 2024 Dec 13;13(24):4036.
doi: 10.3390/foods13244036.

Strategies and Methodologies for Improving Toughness of Starch Films

Yiwen Yang  1 , Jun Fu  1   2 , Qingfei Duan  1 , Huifang Xie  1 , Xinyi Dong  1 , Long Yu  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Strategies and Methodologies for Improving Toughness of Starch Films

Yiwen Yang et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Starch films have attracted increasing attention due to their biodegradability, edibility, and potential use as animal feed from post-products. Applications of starch-based films include food packaging, coating, and medicine capsules. However, a major drawback of starch-based films is their brittleness, particularly under dry conditions, caused by starch retrogradation and the instability of plasticizers. To address this challenge, various strategies and methodologies have been developed, including plasticization, chemical modification, and physical reinforcement. This review covers fundamental aspects, such as the microstructures, phase transitions, and compatibility of starch, as well as application-oriented techniques, including processing methods, plasticizer selection, and chemical modifications. Plasticizers play a crucial role in developing starch-based materials, as they mitigate brittleness and improve processability. Given the abundance of hydroxyl groups in starch, the plasticizers used must also contain hydroxyl or polar groups for compatibility. Chemical modification, such as esterification and etherification, effectively prevents starch recrystallization. Reinforcements, particularly with nanocellulose, significantly improved the mechanical properties of starch film. Drawing upon both the literature and our expertise, this review not only summarizes the advancements in this field but also identifies the limitations of current technologies and outlines promising research directions for future development.

Keywords: modification; phase transition; plasticizer; reinforcement; starch; toughness.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of hierarchical starch structures [12].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Scheme of starch granule structures [27].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic representation of the phase transitions of starch during thermal processing and aging [94]. (A) native starch structure; (B) gelatinization; (C) cooling and gel formation and (D) retrogradation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Chemical modification on starch. Cross-linking modification with (1) CS2, (2) POCl3, Na3P3O9, (3) epichlorohydrin, and (4) C6H5O(COOH)3; oxidation modification with (5) O3 and HIO4; grafting modification with (6) acrylamide with possible initiators; etherification modification with (7) C3H6O, (8) CH2ClCOONa, and (9) C2H5Cl; acid hydrolysis with (10) HCl, TFA, and HNO3; esterification modification with (11) Na2HPO4 and (12) CH3COOH [139].
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a,b) Schematic summary of condensing reaction [142].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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