Potato Starch Hydrogels Produced by High Hydrostatic Pressure (HHP): A First Approach

Starch-based hydrogels have received considerable interest due to their safe nature, biodegradability and biocompatibility. The aim of this study was to verify the possibility of producing natural hydrogels based on potato starch by high hydrostatic pressure (HHP), identifying suitable processing conditions allowing to obtain stable hydrogels, as well as to characterize structural and mechanical properties of these products. Sieved (small size granules and medium size granules) and unsieved potato starch samples were used to prepare aqueous suspensions of different concentrations (10–30% w/w) which were processed at 600 MPa for 15 min at different temperatures (25, 40 and 50 °C). Products obtained were characterized by different techniques (light and polarized microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), rheology and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)). Results obtained so far demonstrated that potato starch suspensions (20% starch–water concentration (w/w)) with granules mean size smaller than 25 µm treated at 600 MPa for 15 min and 50 °C showed a complete gelatinization and gel-like appearance. Potato HHP hydrogels were characterized by high viscosity, shear-thinning behavior and a highly structured profile (G’ >> G’’). Moreover, their FTIR spectra, similarly to FTIR profiles of thermal gels, presented three absorption bands in the characteristic starch-gel region (950–1200 cm−1), whose intensity increased with decreasing the particle size and increasing the processing temperature. In conclusion, potato starch hydrogels produced by HHP in well-defined processing conditions exhibited excellent mechanical properties, which can be tailored according to the requirements of the different applications envisaged.