Nitriles are organic compounds containing cyano (–CN) functional group and are widely distributed in nature. Nitrilases (nitrile aminohydrolases, EC 3.5.5.1) catalyse the hydrolysis of the triple bond of cyano group (-C≡N) of nitriles to form corresponding carboxylic acids. This enzyme is distributed in microbes, plants, and animals. Nitrile groups can be hydrolysed selectively by enzymes along two distinct routes; direct hydrolysis of the nitrile group to acid by a nitrilase, or hydration of the nitrile by a nitrile hydratase to an amide, which can then be hydrolysed to the corresponding acids by an amidase. The nitrilases are capable of hydrolysing various aliphatic/aromatic nitriles, aryl acetonitrile, aminonitriles and hydroxynitriles at physiological pH and temperature. Because of their inherent enantio- and regioselectivities and other benefits, nitrilases are attractive as ‘green’, mild, and selective catalysts for setting stereogenic centers in the fine-chemical synthesis and enantiospecific synthesis of a variety of carboxylic acid derivatives. The main objective of our research is to explore the potential of biocatalysts for the production of fine chemicals and pharmaceutical intermediates.

Dr. Praveen Kumar Mehta is an Assistant Professor in Centre for Molecular Biology, Central University of Jammu, J&K, India. He qualified All India Entrance for master’s in biotechnology conducted by JNU, 2004 and joined Department of Biotechnology for master’s programme. He qualified DBT-JRF and UGC (JRF-NET) in 2007 and enrolled in Department of Biotechnology, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, India for his doctoral research. His research works mostly involved the use of microbial enzyme for industrial use, wastewater treatment and pharmaceutical industries. He did postdoctoral research at Federal University of Sergipe, Brazil and Israel Institute of Technology (IIT)-Technion, Haifa, Israel. His research work was focused on “Improving lipase stability in methanol for generating a robust biocatalyst for biodiesel synthesis using Iterative saturation mutagenesis. He has received several awards at national and international level. His research work was focused on “Improving lipase stability in methanol for generating a robust biocatalyst for biodiesel synthesis using Iterative saturation mutagenesis. He has received several awards at national and international level.  He is currently working on several minor and major projects, received from external funding agencies. He has published several research papers and review articles in reputed international journals. He has delivered lectures on various national and international conferences and served as a reviewer in wide range of international journals. Currently, his research interests focused on microbial isolation and screening for acyltransferase activity on amides for the production of industrially important hydroxamic acids.