Application of high-performance liquid chromatography to the study of the biological transformation of adiponitrile by nitrile hydratase and amidase.

A procedure for the assay of nitrile hydratase and amidase activities by high-performance liquid chromatography is described. The method can be used to assay the intermediate compounds resulting from the hydrolysis of adiponitrile to adipic acid, and to determine the kinetics of the hydrolysis of these compounds using whole cells and enzyme extracts. The precision of the method makes it suitable for the determination of the enzymic parameters.