State of Amylose Within Granules

Until recently, the location and state of amylose within granules was one of the most important questions remaining to be answered. Three main hypotheses for the location of amylose within starch granules have been put forward. The first hypothesis is that amylose is laid down tangentially to the radial orientation of amylopectin in order to minimize the amylose-amylopectin helical interactions.142 There is, 

In summary, therefore, substantial information regarding the location and state of amylose has been obtained. Individual amylose chains are believed to be randomly located in a radial fashion among the amylopectin molecules. The concentration of amylose (and lipid) increases towards the surface of the granule, with smaller (leach-able) amylose chains predominating near the surface. Amylose chains are believed to be in a single helical state, although a small proportion may be involved in lipid complexes.147 Some of the larger (non-leachable) amylose chains may be involved in double helical interactions with amylopectin.159 

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