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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Bioproducts Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #170423
Title: OIL-FILLED STARCH GELS: A DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR VOLATILE CHEMICALS

Author
item Glenn, Gregory - Greg
item Shey, Justin
item Klamczynski, Artur
item Chiou, Bor-Sen
item Orts, William
item Imam, Syed
item Wood, Delilah - De

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/29/2004
Publication Date: 12/5/2004
Citation: Glenn, G.M., Shey, J., Klamczynski, A., Chiou, B., Orts, W.J., Imam, S.H., Wood, D.F. 2004. Oil-filled starch gels: a delivery system for volatile chemicals. BioEnvironmental Polymer Society International Meeting in Monterrey, Mexico, December 5-10, 2004. Paper No. 19 (abstract).

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Aerogels are intriguing materials with many potential applications in agriculture. Aerogels made from starch gels have an open-cell structure with pore sizes ranging from the micron to the nanometer range. Preliminary tests show that starch aerogels absorb several times their weight in oil. Oil-filled gels could provide an effective delivery system for volatile agricultural compounds. However, these nanofoams can be costly to produce because of the need for critical-point drying to avoid collapsing the foam from surface tension. This paper describes an alternate process for making a starch gel that contains silicone oil in its pores. The process involves dehydrating an aqueous starch gel in ethanol and then exchanging the ethanol with a silicone oil. This process preserves the nanopores of the starch gel and forms a stable gel that can be used as a delivery system for controlled release of volatile agricultural compounds.