The Chemistry of Nitriles

Abstract

Nitrile biotransformation is one of the scopes of getting valuable industrial products catalyzed by enzymes such as nitrilase, nitrile hydratase, and amidase. Although plants, archaea, bacteria, and fungi peculiarly produce these enzymes, microbial sources are crucial for the industrial production of nitrile biotransformed products rather than plants. The value-added products obtained from nitrile metabolizing enzymes show tremendous market value and demand for novel developments in pharmaceutical products, industrially essential goods, food packaging materials, etc. Catalytic efficiency and stereo-and regioselectivity are displayed by these enzymes. Substrate specificity plays a crucial role in enzyme efficiency. The molecular approach sought for the biotransformation of nitriles is recombinant cells for overexpression of nitrile biotransforming enzymes. Nitrilase and nitrile hydratase are two enzymes utilized on an industrial scale to manufacture various acids and amides. These include mandelic acid, glycolic acid, nicotinic acid, and isonicotinic acid, as well as amides such as acrylamide, nicotinamide, and mandelamide. © 2024 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.