title: 11α-Hydroxylation of 16α,17-epoxyprogesterone by Rhizopus nigricans in a biphasic ionic liquid aqueous system.
abstract: 11α-Hydroxylation of 16α,17-epoxyprogesterone (EP) by Rhizopus nigricans is an essential step in the synthesis of many steroidal drugs, while low conversion of the biohydroxylation is a tough problem to be solved urgently in industry. Two ionic liquids (ILs) of [BMIm][PF(6)] and [BMIm][NTf(2)] were used in the biotransformation of EP by R. nigricans. The results indicated that the conversion carried out in [BMIm][PF(6)]-aqueous biphasic system was greatly increased to above 90% at 18 g/L feeding concentration. A simplified mechanism was proposed to explain the improvement of the bioconversion in a biphasic ionic liquid aqueous system. Besides, successive three batches of bioconversion were carried out in the biphasic system with a total conversion of 87% at phase ratio 10 and 75% at phase ratio 5, respectively. Since recycling of the [BMIm][PF(6)] is quite easy, there is a great potential for the application of ILs in fungi biotransformation to implement green production.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
authors.forename: Dong-Xiang
authors.initials: DX
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yi-Xin
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.forename: Hai-Qing
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shan-Jing
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Yao
mesh_terms: D001711:Biotransformation; D003470:Culture Media; D006900:Hydroxylation; D011374:Progesterone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D012233:Rhizopus / Q000378:metabolism*; D012995:Solubility; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D014867:Water; D011374:Progesterone