The superiority of the third-generation catalyst, Rhodococcus rhodochrous J1 nitrile hydratase, for industrial production of acrylamide

Abstract

As the third-generation biocatalyst for industrial production of acrylamide, the superiority of Rhodococcus rhodochrous J1 nitrile hydratase was demonstrated in comparison with other acrylamide-producing bacteria. R. rhodochrous J1 enzyme is much more heat stable and more tolerant to a high concentration of acrylonitrile than Pseudomonas chlororaphis B23 and Brevibacterium R312 enzymes. The J1 enzyme is peculiar in its extremely high tolerance to acrylamide. The hydration reaction of acrylonitrile catalysed by J1 cells proceeded even in the presence of 50% (w/v) acrylamide. The tolerance of J1 enzyme to various organic solvents such as n-propanol and isopropanol was prominent. Using R. rhodochrous J1 resting cells, the accumulation reaction was carried out by feeding acrylonitrile to maintain a level of 6%. After 10 h incubation, the accumulation of acrylamide was approximately 65.6% (w/v) at 10°C, 56.7% (w/v) at 15°C, and 56.0 (w/v) at 20°C. The high stability, high catalytic efficiency and other outstanding features of the J1 enzyme are analysed and discussed.