Rhodococcus equi amidase

The amide unit to be cleaved by an enzyme can also be part of a cyclic system thus lactams can also be hydrolysed selectively using enzymes or micro-organisms. For example, the y-lactam (22) (Scheme 3.14) is hydrolysed enantiospecifically by an amidase in Rhodococcus equi to give the amino... 

Martinkova and coworkers effidently suppressed amidase activity to less than 20% by immobilizing Rhodococcus equi A4 cells in polyvinyl alcohol/polyethyl-ene glycol beads (LentiKats ) the formulation was tested with four small aromatic and aliphatic nitriles, and good recydability and operational stability was demonstrated [16]. 

Figure 25 Preparation of (5)-2-arylpropionic acids and (iiI)-2-arylpropionamides from the corresponding racemic nitriles by (5)-specific amidases from a Rhodococcus equi TG 328 and Rhodococcus rhodochrous IFO 15564.

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