Production of tailor made short chain amylose–lipid complexes using varying reaction conditions

When amylose was synthesized using potato phosphorylase in the presence of amylose complexing lipids, monodisperse populations of amylose–lipid complexes were formed. Enzyme dosage and glucose-1-phosphate (glc-1-P)/primer ratio influenced the reaction rate of the enzymic synthesis, presumably by changing the balance between amylose synthesis and amylose–lipid complexation and precipitation, and impacted the molecular weight of the complexes. Lipid characteristics affected the dissociation properties and amylose chain lengths of the amylose–lipid complexes presumably by determining the minimal amylose chain length necessary for complexation and precipitation. Tailor made short chain amylose–lipid complexes can hence be produced by choosing the appropriate reaction conditions. We propose a synthesis mechanism in which the primer is elongated until an amylose chain is obtained which is of sufficient length to complex a first lipid. Further chain extension then occurs, together with subsequent complexation until the complex becomes insoluble and precipitates.