ABSTRACT
The extracellular enzyme cyclodextrin glucanotransferase produced by Paenibacillus macerans ATCC 8244 cells was immobilized by covalent linking via glutaraldehyde to silanized magnetic nanoparticles treated with PEI and on cellulose- coated magnetite microparticles in order to study the immobilization capacities of the carriers, the activity recovery and some biochemical characteristics of the enzyme after immobilization. These biocatalysts were used for an efficient production of cyclodextrins from starch in repeated-batch runs, retained more than 52–83% of their initial activity and were stable after 60 day storage at 4°C. No significant increase of pH stability profile was observed, whereas the thermal stability of immobilized GTase was superior to that of free CGTase.