Efficient production of (R)-(−)-mandelic acid with highly substrate/product tolerant and enantioselective nitrilase of recombinant Alcaligenes sp

Analysis of the infrared and Raman spectra of phenylacetic acid and mandelic (2-hydroxy-2-phenylacetic) acid

The structural stability of phenylacetic acid and mandelic acid was investigated by the DFT-B3LYP and the ab initio MP2 calculations with the 6-311G** basis set. The two molecules were predicted at the DFT and MP2 levels of calculation to have the non-planar (Np) forms as their lowest energy structures. The observed spectral intensities of the acids were consistent with the Np conformation being the predominant form at room temperature. The vibrational wavenumbers were computed at the B3LYP level of theory and tentative vibrational assignments were provided on the basis of combined theoretical and experimental infrared and Raman data of the molecules. The sharpness of the methylenic O-H stretching mode in the IR spectrum of mandelic acid suggests the absence of intermolecular dimerization in the acid which is supported by the observation of no splitting of its CO stretching mode.

A high-throughput screening strategy for nitrile-hydrolyzing enzymes based on ferric hydroxamate spectrophotometry

Nitrile-hydrolyzing enzymes (nitrilase or nitrile hydratase/amidase) have been widely used in the pharmaceutical industry for the production of carboxylic acids and their derivatives, and it is important to build a method for screening for nitrile-hydrolyzing enzymes. In this paper, a simple, rapid, and high-throughput screening method based on the ferric hydroxamate spectrophotometry has been proposed. To validate the accuracy of this screening strategy, the nitrilases from Rhodococcus erythropolis CGMCC 1.2362 and Alcaligenes sp. ECU0401 were used for evaluating the method. As a result, the accuracy for assaying aliphatic and aromatic carboxylic acids was as high as the HPLC-based method. Therefore, the method may be potentially used in the selection of microorganisms or engineered proteins with nitrile-hydrolyzing enzymes.

Cloning and biochemical properties of a highly thermostable and enantioselective nitrilase from Alcaligenes sp. ECU0401 and its potential for (R)-(-)-mandelic acid production

A nitrilase gene from Alcaligenes sp. ECU0401 was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) in a soluble form. The encoded protein with a His₆-tag was purified to nearly homogeneity as revealed by SDS-PAGE with a molecular weight of approximately 38.5 kDa, and the holoenzyme was estimated to be composed of 10 subunits of identical size by size exclusion chromatography. The V(max) and K(m) parameters were determined to be 27.9 μmol min⁻¹ mg⁻¹ protein and 21.8 mM, respectively, with mandelonitrile as the substrate. The purified enzyme was highly thermostable with a half life of 155 h at 30 °C and 94 h at 40 °C. Racemic mandelonitrile (50 mM) could be enantioselectively hydrolyzed to (R)-(-)-mandelic acid by the purified nitrilase with an enantiomeric excess of 97%. The extreme stability, high activity and enantioselectivity of this nitrilase provide a solid base for its practical application in the production of (R)-(-)-mandelic acid.