An efficient continuous flow process for the synthesis of a non-conventional mixture of fructooligosaccharides

Paolo Zambelli^a, Lucia Tamborini^b, Samuele Cazzamalli^b, Andrea Pinto^b, Stefania Arioli^a, Silvia Balzaretti^a, Francisco J. Plou^c, Lucia Fernandez-Arrojo^c, Francesco Molinari^a, Paola Conti^b, Diego Romano^a

• ^a Department of Food Environmental and Nutritional Science (DeFENS), University of Milan, Via Mangiagalli, 20133 Milan, Italy
• ^b Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (DISFARM), University of Milan, Via Mangiagalli 25, 20133 Milan, Italy
• ^c Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica, CSIC, 28049 Madrid, Spain

A sustainable and scalable process for the production of a new mixture of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) was developed using a continuous-flow approach based on an immobilized whole cells-packed bed reactor. The technological transfer from a classical batch system to an innovative flow environment allowed a significant improvement of the productivity. Moreover, the stability of this production system was ascertained by up to 7 days of continuous working. These results suggest the suitability of the proposed method for a large-scale production of the desired FOS mixture, in view of a foreseeable use as a novel prebiotic preparation.

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