Starch, A Renewable, Biodegradable Polymer

What is Starch?

Starch is one of the most common components of our food, and is especially high in staple foods such as rice and wheat. Chemically, starch is a polymer of glucose.

The glucose units are linked together by a-1,4 and a-1,6 linkages.

Structurally, starch has two forms, amylose (which is a straight chain) and amylopectin (which is branched). a-1,4 linkages form the chains of glucose molecules and a-1,6 linkages occur at the branch points.