Simultaneous hydrolysis of cheese whey and lactulose production catalyzed by β-galactosidase from Kluyveromyces lactis NRRL Y1564

β-Galactosidase was produced by the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis NRRL Y1564 in cheese whey supplemented with yeast extract under the optimal temperature of 30 °C, delivering an enzymatic activity of 4418.37 U/g cell after 12 h of process. In order to develop more stable biocatalysts, the enzyme produced by fermentation was immobilized on 2.0% w/v chitosan activated with glutaraldehyde, epichlorohydrin or glycidol, producing a highly active and stable biocatalyst capable of hydrolyzing lactose and producing lactulose simultaneously. The biocatalyst obtained by immobilization in chitosan-glutaraldehyde showed high storage stabilities (100% of its activity when stored at 4 °C 105 days). Regarding the milk lactose hydrolysis by both the soluble and the immobilized enzyme, the conversions obtained were 38.0% and 42.8%, respectively. In this study, by using a biocatalyst deriving from enzyme immobilization to chitosan support, a lactulose production of 17.32 g/L was also possible.