Synthesis database: Dextrin synthesis

Dextrin is a general name for a wider group of compounds that are usually produced by the hydrolysis of starch. This compound is mostly used as a water soluble glue. It is also used in the production of various types of paint, in the pharmaceutical and textile industry. Sometimes it is also used as a food additive. Dextrin can be obtained by heating starch, and this is exactly what has been done in the synthesis described here.

The procedure is pretty simple. Apart from starch, one must only prepare some kind of tray on which the starch is going to be heated. A spoon or something similar can also be useful for stirring the starch a bit during the reaction.

The starch must first be poured and equally spread on the tray. Then the tray is placed in the oven at temperatures around 200 °C. The time that is needed to convert most of the starch varies a bit. However, there is a general rule that can be applied - as soon as the powder starts to take on a golden orange color, most of the starch has been converted to dextrin, and the heating can be turned off at that moment. The tray can be taken out of the oven, and should be left for a few minutes to cool down.

After the newly formed dextrin has cooled down, it can be stored in small bottles or other types of similar containers that can be tightly sealed, in order to prevent the contact with moisture.