Starch

as a natural polymer

has the advantages of renewability

biodegradability

abundance and low cost

and has received great attention in non-food applications for a long time.However

starch cannot be used alone as a polymeric material due to its insolubility in cold water

poor shearing stability and water resistance

and absence of melting flow.Therefore

it should be chemically/physically modified in order to strengthen some functions or form some new properties.This review provides an insight into some developments in the chemical and physical modification of starch for its applications in biodegradable plastics

absorption materials

tissue engineering scaffold and drug carriers primarily based on the publications that appeared during the last five years.The chemical modification of starch included esterification

etherification

oxidation

crosslinking and graft polymerization.The physical modification of starch focused on the blending of starch with other biodegradable polymers such as aliphatic polyesters

poly(vinyl alcohol) and other natural macromolecules.Starch nanocrystals obtained by acid hydrolysis were also reviewed

and they can be functionalized or used to enhance the mechanical properties of starch or other polymer materials.As a kind of renewable material

starch

especially the non-food starch should receive more and more attentions in the preparation of practical polymeric materials in the future.