In this work, a biocatalytic system was chosen to enable the deglycosylation of natural glycosides in order to improve their biological activity. Naringinase, which has both alpha-L-rhamnosidase and beta-nglucosidase activities, was the enzyme used. Naringin, the glycoside substrate used in this bioconversion, and its aglycone product naringenin are compounds with interesting pharmacological activities such as anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory; naringenin also acts as an anti-carcinogenic and neuroprotective agent, demonstrating a high potential for use by the pharmaceutical industry. Sol-gel, an innovative technique performed in aqueous media, was developed for naringinase immobilization in lens-shaped particles. Different sot-gel precursors, including tetramethoxysilane (TMOS), methyltrimethoxysilane (MTS), 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APS) and diglycerylsilane (DGS) with different aging times were tested in five consecutive trials. The best results were obtained with TMOS and TMOS/DGS after 4 h aging time and TMOS/glycerol and DOS at 1411 aging time. The characterization of these matrices was performed with respect to their diameter, volume, naringin and naringenin partition coefficients, and the optimum temperature and pH for naringinase activity. The operational stability of the bioencapsulated naringinase in the selected sol-gel matrices was studied through successive reutilizations. The naringinase sol-gel matrix (TMOS, DGS and TMOS/DGS) deactivation studies followed the Sadana model. The matrix TMOS/glycerol showed a constant 100% residual activity after 50 consecutive runs. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.