¹H–¹³C NMR-Based Profiling of Biotechnological Starch Utilization

Starch is used in food- and nonfood applications as a renewable and degradable source of carbon and energy. Insight into the chemical detail of starch degradation remains challenging as the starch constituents amylose and amylopectin are homopolymers. We show that considerable molecular detail of starch fragmentation can be obtained from multivariate analysis of spectral features in optimized ¹H–¹³C NMR spectroscopy of starch fragments to identify relevant features that distinguish processes in starch utilization. As a case study, we compare the profiles of starch fragments in commercial beer samples. Spectroscopic profiles of homooligomeric starch fragments can be excellent indicators of process conditions. In addition, differences in the structure and composition of starch fragments have predictive value for downstream process output such as ethanol production from starch. Thus, high-resolution ¹H–¹³C NMR spectroscopic profiles of homooligomeric fragment mixtures in conjunction with chemometric methods provide a useful addition to the analytical chemistry toolbox of biotechnological starch utilization.