Liberation of cyanide from alpha-aminonitriles relative to amygdalin

A series of aminoitriles have been synthesized and studied whose nonenzymatic dissociation with release of cyanide may be varied by modest alteration of their molecular structure from that obtained with nonenzymatic dissociation of amygdalin to that obtained from enzymatic dissociation of amygdalin by substantial quantities of beta-glucosidase. The relationship between such alterations in molecular structure and nonenzymatic dissociation is discussed. A combination of the results of these studies and studies relating molecular structure to physical localization propensity in tumors has potential in the design of chemotherapeutic agents.