| Abstract: | Waxy maize starch was chemically modified to varying benzylation levels and the degree of benzylation substitution was measured using a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method. Fourier Transform (FT) Raman spectra of the chemically modified starches were acquired and aromatic C=C stretch Raman bands characteristic of the benzylation modification were used to derive a calibration curve for the Raman intensity of these marker bands versus the degree of benzylation substitution. The best‐fit linear regression to the plotted data gave a linear correlation coefficient of 0.997. The FT‐Raman technique provides a fast, nondestructive method for the measurement of the degree of benzylation substitution of modified waxy maize starches and should be applicable for use with benzylated starches from other botanical sources. |
