Thermal and structural study of drying method effect in high amylose starch- beta-carotene nanoparticles prepared with cold gelatinization

In the present research an alkali treatment was used for starch gelatinization followed by β-carotene dilution in ethanol and starch particles/β-carotene nanoprecipitation. A drying process was applied to obtain the nanoparticles. The drying time has been changed for the best approach to receive nanoparticles. Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) were used for particles structural changes, particle crystallinity and particle size determination respectively. Finally, the beta-carotene recovery was measured. The produced nanoparticles had a crystallinity ranged from 24.50 to 31.00% according to the drying method. The β-carotene recovery was between 22.60% and 42.50%. It seemed that there was a particle size decrease when the β-carotene was encapsulated in the nanoparticles.