Abstract
Magnetic-chitosan particles were prepared following three different protocols enabling the preparation of particles with different sizes - nano (Nano-CMag, Micro (Micro-CMag) and Macro (Macro-CMag) - and used for pectinase immobilization and clarification of grape, apple and orange juices. The particle size had a great effect in the kinetic parameters, Nano-CMag biocatalyst presented the highest Vmax value (78.95 mg. min-1), followed by Micro-CMag and Macro-CMag, with Vmax of 57.20 mg.min-1 and 46.03 mg.min-1, respectively. However, the highest thermal stability was achieved using Macro-CMag, that was 8 and 3-times more stable than Nano-CMag and Micro-CMag biocatalysts, respectively. Pectinase immobilized on Macro-CMag kept 85% of its initial activity after 25 batch cycles in orange juice clarification. These results suggested that the chitosan magnetic biocatalysts presented great potential application as clarifying catalysts for the fruit juice industry and the great importance of the chitosan particles preparation on the final biocatalyst properties.