Investigations of the transfructosylation reaction by fructosyltransferase from B-subtilis NCIMB 11871 for the synthesis of the sucrose analogue galactosyl-fructoside

The exo-fructosyltransferase produced from B.subtilis NCIMB 11871 strain transfers the fructose moiety from donor alpha(12) inked saccharides such as sucrose, raffinose and stachyose to the acceptor D-galactose, leading to the sucrose analogue, galactosyl-fructoside. Here, we report detailed kinetic studies. The enzyme showed a remarkably high optimal temperature at 50 degrees C and was effectively immobilised on Eupergit (R) C 250 L and Trisopor (R)-Amino. This is also the first report about the equilibrium of the transfructosylation reaction, its activation energy determination, the structure of the product and its preparative scale isolation. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.