What is "arylacetonitrilase"

In enzymology, an arylacetonitrilase is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction

4-chlorophenylacetonitrile + 2 HO $\rightleftharpoons$ 4-chlorophenylacetate + NH

Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are 4-chlorophenylacetonitrile and HO, whereas its two products are 4-chlorophenylacetate and NH.

This enzyme belongs to the family of hydrolases, those acting on carbon-nitrogen bonds other than peptide bonds, specifically in nitriles. The systematic name of this enzyme class is arylacetonitrile aminohydrolase. This enzyme participates in cyanoamino acid metabolism.