Nitrilase and Its Application as a ′Green′ Catalyst

Abstract

Hydrolase-catalyzed reactions have been widely applied in organic synthesis. Nitrilases are an important class of hydrolase that converts naturally occurring, as well as xenobiotically derived, nitriles to the corresponding carboxylic acids and ammonia. Because of their inherent enantio-and regioselectivities and other benefits, nitrilases are attractive as green, mild, and selective catalysts for setting stereogenic centers in fine-chemical synthesis and enantiospecific synthesis of a variety of carboxylic acid derivatives. In this review, the literature has been surveyed to provide a comprehensive coverage of the application of nitrilases in organic synthesis. Literature has also been cited to describe the isolation and/ or characterization of nitrilases and related enzymes.

Role of Enzymes in the Remediation of Polluted Environments

“…Moreover, this method could be used in the low-cyanide-cassava starch production and is suitable for detoxification of cassava products during processing. An interesting role is played by a class of enzymes involved in the transformation of nitrile compounds (Banerjee et al, 2002;Singh et al, 2006). Nitrile is any organic compound which has a -C≡N functional group.…”

“…Some of the nitrilases are capable of hydrolyzing nitriles stereospecifically. While much information is available on the structure and function of bacterial nitrilases (Banerjee et al, 2002;Singh et al, 2006), a lesser amount of findings is available for nitrilases from filamentous fungi. Martínková et al (2009) reviewed the current knowledge of these enzymes by examining findings on enzyme screening, production, purification and immobilization and prospective applications in the field of biocatalysis.…”

Understanding nitrile-degrading enzymes: classification, biocatalytic nature and current applications

“…Such metabolization processes take place through reactions that involve the hydrolysis of nitriles into their corresponding carboxylic acid and ammonia as subproducts (Howden and Preston, 2009 (Harper, 1985;Ambler et al 1987;Novo et al 1995;Stevenson et al 1990;Bork and Koonin, 1994). The nitrilase superfamily contains a closely group of related cyanide hydratase and cyanide dihydratase enzymes which preferentially hydrolyse cyanide to formamide, while cyanide dihydratase enzymes hydrolyse this compound to formic acid and ammonia (Singh et al 2006). Most branches of the nitrilase superfamily do not contain nitrilase enzymes precisely, due to the fact that several amide-hydrolyzing and amidecondensing enzymes among this group can be found.…”

Construction and Application of Variants of the Pseudomonas fluorescens EBC191 Arylacetonitrilase for Increased Production of Acids or Amides

“…Nitrilases possess a catalytic triad which is composed of a cysteine, a glutamate, and a lysine residue and form during the catalytic cycle a covalent adduct between the cysteine residue and the carbon atom of the nitrile group (11,12,29). Nitriles are important intermediates in chemical industry, and several processes which utilize the chemo-, regio-, or enantioselectivity of nitrilases for the production of commercially interesting products have been investigated (13,16,17,18,22,26,27,33,34). There is also growing biotechnological interest in nitrilases because they form (as other members of the so-called nitrilase superfamily) spiral quaternary structures which can be studied by electron microscopy and which might be useful as templates in nanotechnology (30,31).…”