Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry offers a modern approach to obtain more detailed process control data than the spectrophotometric and chromatographic measurements used in the past.

This ion selectivity is seen in other macrocyclic ligands, such as the cyclic ionophore valinomycin, which is also an antibiotic, and crown ethers.

Nonactin has been reported to specifically inhibit the processing of cytoplasmic precursor proteins destined for the mitochondria.

It is able to uncouple the oxidative phosphorylation of mitochondria of rat liver in a low concentration, and can also carry cations across biological and artificial membranes.

[7][8] A nactins mixture, purposely enriched in tetranactin and poor in nonactin, known as polynactin(C), was used as a pesticide, but since 2004 is not used any more, presumably because its residuals appeared in food.