Amylose, a mostly linear homopolymer
of glucosyl units
extracted
from native starch granules, can form a large variety of so-called
V-type host–guest complexes when cocrystallized with small
hydrophobic molecules. Several allomorphs are known that contain six-,
seven-, or eight-fold amylose single helices, the guest molecules
being located in the helices, in-between, or both. The present report
describes the crystal structure of model lamellar inclusion complexes
prepared by crystallizing amylose from dilute aqueous solutions in
the presence of three aromatic compounds, namely, napth-1-ol, salicylic
acid, and quinoline. By adequately selecting the crystallization conditions
(amylose chain length, mixing, and crystallization temperatures),
each guest induced two allomorphs, characterized by transmission electron
microscopy, X-ray and electron diffraction, and 13C CP/MAS
solid-state NMR spectroscopy data. The three guests induced the formation
of the tetragonal V8II allomorph, based on eightfold amylose
single helices, whereas three other allomorphs were identified for
the first time: V7III (with napht-1-ol) and V7IV (with quinoline), both based on orthorhombic unit cells containing
sevenfold helices, and the monoclinic V8III (with salicylic
acid). The results widen the family of known V-amylose allomorphs
that may occur when starch is processed in the presence of various
ingredients and additives.