The enzymatic synthesis of galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) from lactose was studied using commercial grade beta-galactosidase (Biolacta FN5) from Bacillus circulans. The reaction was carried out under free enzyme condition varying initial lactose concentration (ILC: 55-525 g/L), enzyme concentration (0.05-1.575 g/L), temperature (30-50 degrees C) and pH (5.0-6.0). Reaction mixture compositions were analyzed utilizing high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A maximum GOS formation of 39% (dry basis) was achieved at an ILC of 525 g/L converting 60% of the lactose fed. Tri-saccharides were the major types of GOS formed, accounting approximately 24%; whereas, tetra-saccharides and penta-saccharides account approximately 12% and 3%, respectively. Design correlation was developed in order to observe the quantitative effect of operating parameters on GOS yield. Further, based on Michaelis-Menten model, four-step reaction pathways were considered for simplistic understanding of the kinetics. Apart from predicting the reaction mixture composition, the approach also provided kinetic parameters though simulation using COPASI 4.7 (R) Excellent agreements were observed between simulated and experimental results. (c) 2012, The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. All rights reserved.