The production of prebiotic galactooligosaccharides (GOS) from lactose has been widely
20 studied whereas the synthesis of new prebiotic oligosaccharides with improved properties as
21 those derived from lactulose is receiving an increasing interest. Understanding the mechanism
22 of enzymatic oligosaccharides synthesis from lactulose would help to improve the quality of
23 the products in a rational way as well as to increase the production efficiency by optimally
24 selecting the operating conditions. A detailed kinetic model describing the enzymatic
25 transgalactosylation reaction during lactulose hydrolysis is presented here for the first time.
26 The model was calibrated with the experimental data obtained in batch assays with two
27 different -galactosidases at various temperatures and concentrations of substrate. A complete
28 system identification loop, including model selection, robust estimation of the parameters by
29 means of a global optimization method and computation of confidence intervals was
30 performed. The kinetic model showed a good agreement between experimental data and
31 predictions for lactulose conversion and provided important insights into the mechanism of
32 formation of new oligosaccharides with potential prebiotic properties.
33Peer reviewe
