Phase Transitions of Mixtures of Amorphous Polysaccharides and Sugars

Abstract

Abstract Maltodextrins of varying molecular weights, maltose, and sucrose were used to study the effect of molecular weight, water plasticization, and composition on glass transition temperature ( T g ). All maltodextrins were plasticized by water, and the decrease of T g was linear with water activity over the range of 0.11–0.85. The plasticization effect of water was similar for maltodextrins having various molecular weights. Effects of molecular weight and composition on the T g of maltodextrins could be correlated by using relationships reported previously for polymers. The quantitative results obtained can be applied to formulate food and related materials having desired processability and storage stability.