Rhizopus arrhizus progesterone hydroxylation

In every case the information provided has been obtained by collating public domain sources of information, but unfortunately very often little data is available, particularly on commercial aspects, even for products that have proved to be big successes. Thus microbial biotransformations for steroid modification, particularly stereoselective hydroxylations, such as the use of Rhizopus arrhizus to convert progesterone into antiinflammatory and other dmgs via 11- -hydroxyprogestrone, have proved to be very successful. However, comparatively little useful information exists from public domain sources, despite (or perhaps because) a market of hundreds of millions /a exists for such microbially transformed steroids (cortisone, aldosterone, prednisolone and prednisone etc.) produced by microbial hydroxylation and dehydrogenation reactions coupled with complimentary chemical steps. 

Several hydroxylation biotransformations have been conunercialised, such as steroid hydroxylation, e.g. the 11-bf-hydroxylation of progesterone by Rhizopus arrhizus, 6-... 

The first major systematic studies on microbial hydroxylations were reports from the Upjohn Co. that strains of Mucorales molds, specifically Rhizopus arrhizus, grown in aerated culture were capable of the lla-hydroxylation of progesterone (I, R = H) and Rcichstein s Compound S (1, R = OH). 

The microbiological hydroxylation of the steroid progesterone (1.35) at C-11 by Rhizopus arrhizus was reported in 1952. This biotransformation, which is now carried out commercially on a substantial scale, provided the facile means of... 

In 1950 Peterson and Murray observed the first microbial 11-hydroxylation, namely, the llo-hydroxylation of progesterone with the fungus, Rhizopus arrhizus. The culture was isolated from the air when an agar plate was exposed on a window sill (P-721). Shortly thereafter, Rhizopus nigricans was found to llo-hydroxylate progesterone in high yield. The first publication of this work in extensowzs in a U. S. 

In 1952 Peterson and Murray observed that the mould Rhizopus arrhizus oxidized progesterone to 11 a-hydroxyprogesterone. Since that time microorganisms have been observed to separately hydroxylate virtually every... 

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