title: Nitrile hydratase and its application to industrial production of acrylamide.
abstract: Nitrile hydratase (NHase) was discovered in our laboratory. This enzyme was purified and characterized from various microorganisms. NHases are roughly classified into two groups according to the metal involved: Fe-type and Co-type. NHases are expected to have great potential as catalysts in organic chemical processing because they can convert nitriles to the corresponding higher-value amides under mild conditions. We have used microbial enzymes for the production of useful compounds: NHase has been used for the industrial production (production capacity: 30,000 tons/year) of acrylamide from acrylonitrile. This is the first successful example of a biotransformation process for the manufacture of a commodity chemical. This review summarizes the history of NHase studied not only from a basic standpoint but also from an applied point of view.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
mesh_terms: D020106:Acrylamide; D000178:Acrylamides / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D002617:Chemical Industry; D004926:Escherichia coli; D006836:Hydro-Lyases / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D007218:Industrial Microbiology; D009570:Nitriles / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012240:Rhodococcus / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000178:Acrylamides; D009570:Nitriles; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D020106:Acrylamide; D006836:Hydro-Lyases; C048831:nitrile hydratase