Enzyme and Process Development for Production of Nicotinamide

Through screening a library of nitrile hydratases developed in-house, NHT-120 was selected to catalyze the hydration of 3-cyanopyridine for production of nicotinamide. After reaction optimization, a fed-batch method was used to alleviate the substrate inhibition. Under this approach, 200 g/L of 3-cyanopyridine could be converted to nicotinamide in 5.5 h, and no nicotinic acid was produced. Under a substrate to enzyme ratio of 100:1 (w/w), nicotinamide in the reaction solution could reach 230 g/L.