Clear colorless to faintly yellow liquid
Cyano substituted cyclopentane which can be converted into cyanohydrin glucosides by Passiflora morifolia and Turnera angustifolia.
Cyclopentanecarbonitrile is used as a substrate and reagent to investigate the specific activity of nitrile and amide hydrolyzing enzymes isolated from candida guilliermondii cells. It is also used to prepare cyclopentanecarboxamide by using tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulfate as a catalyst in the presence of reagents such as aqueous hydrogen peroxide and sodium hydroxide.
Cyclopentanecarbonitrile is an alicyclic nitrile.
Dissolve the nitrile in Et2O, wash it thoroughly with saturated aqueous K2CO3, dry (MgSO4) and distil it through a 10 cm Vigreux column (p 11). [McElvain & Stern J Am Chem Soc 77 457 1955, Bailey & Daly J Am Chem Soc 81 5397 1959, Beilstein 9 IV 14.]
