(R)- and (S)-cyanohydrins using oxynitrilases in whole cells

Almond meal and Sorghum bicolor shoots were used as the sources of oxynitrilases for the preparation of a number (R)- and (S)-arylcyanohydrins, respectively, from the corresponding aldehydes in diisopropyl ether. Two different in situ methods were used to introduce hydrogen cyanide into the reaction mixture. In method 1, acetone cyanohydrin decomposes enzymatically and/or chemically to hydrogen cyanide. In method 2, hydrogen cyanide freely evaporates from a solution in diisopropyl ether from one compartment of the reaction vessel and ends up to the other where it dissolves into the reaction mixture. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd