رد الفعل أن يؤديه هذا الإنزيم هو:\ mathrm {N_2 + 8 \ H ^ + + 8 \ ه ^ - + 16 \ ATP + 16 \ H_2O \ longrightarrow 2 \ NH_3 + + H_2 16 \ ADP + 16 \ P_i}بالإضافة إلى أداء رد الفعل N ≡ N → 2 NH 3، نتروجيناز هي أيضا قادرة على تحفيز التفاعلات التالية:</ref>:HC≡CH → H2C=CH2:N–=N+=O → N2 + H2O:N=N=N– → N2 + NH3:cyanide → CH4, NH3, H3C–CH3, H2C=CH2 (CH3NH2):N≡C–R → RCH3 + NH3:C≡N–R → CH4, H3C–CH3, H2C=CH2, C3H8, C3H6, RNH2:O=C=S → CO + H2S:O=C=O → CO + H2O:S=C=N– → H2S + HCN:O=C=N– → H2O + HCN, CO + NH3http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/101/motm.do?momID=26http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19489731http://www.bioinfo.rpi.edu/bystrc/courses/bcbp4870/lecture13.pdfhttp://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ar300267m
The reaction that this enzyme performs is::formula_3==Nonspecific reactions==In addition to performing the reaction N≡N → 2 NH3, nitrogenase is also capable of catalyzing the following reactions::HC≡CH → H2C=CH2:N–=N+=O → N2 + H2O:N=N=N– → N2 + NH3:cyanide → CH4, NH3, H3C–CH3, H2C=CH2 (CH3NH2):N≡C–R → RCH3 + NH3:C≡N–R → CH4, H3C–CH3, H2C=CH2, C3H8, C3H6, RNH2:O=C=S → CO + H2S:O=C=O → CO + H2O:S=C=N– → H2S + HCN:O=C=N– → H2O + HCN, CO + NH3Furthermore, dihydrogen functions as a competitive inhibitor, carbon monoxide functions as a non-competitive inhibitor, and carbon disulfide functions as a rapid-equilibrium inhibitor of nitrogenase.