BACKGROUND: Essential oils are complex mixtures of a variety of volatile molecules which can easily be decomposed depending on the industrial application. Geraniol is a terpene alcohol found in many essential oils from aromatic plants and its antimicrobial property. increases its use as an important additive for the food industry. RESULTS: Through experimental design 75% of geranyl cinnamate was obtained under reaction conditions of 70 degrees C, 15 wt% of immobilized C. antarctica NS88011, and 3:1 geraniol to cinnamic acid molar ratio. Kinetic assay showed it was possible to improve the enzymatic esterification reaction (97%) under reaction conditions of 80 degrees C, 20 wt% of immobilized NS88011 lipase and 5:1 geraniol to cinnamic acid molar ratio. The antimicrobial activity of the geranyl cinnamate ester was tested on bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and agar diffusion and the compound showed excellent antimicrobial activity for the two bacteria, with a bactericidal effect. CONCLUSION: The results showed the promise of a technique to overcome the well-known drawbacks of the chemical-catalyzed route to obtain a high-value compound. (C) 2016 Society of Chemical Industry