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Investigating the scope of steroid transformation using free and immobilized filamentous fungi Jordan M.G. McKenzie*, Paul B. Reese Department of Chemistry, The University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica Microbial transformation, commonly referred to as biotransformation, has long captured the attention of scientists who have sought new and efficient ways of performing remote functionalization on organic substrates. 1 These transformations have been executed by microorganisms and have proven to be advantageous in the production of functionalized analogues, in quantitative yields, without the generation of hazardous chemical by-products. Almost exclusively, substrates have been fed to cultures of the fungus grown in nutrient media. However, in a study carried out by Peart et al., it was shown that it is possible to perform entrapment of whole cells for the purpose of biotransformation without the loss of cell activity. 2 This current investigation explores the capabilities of seven fungi, namely, Actinomucor elegans, Aspergillus ochraceus, Beauveria bassiana, Calonectria decora, Mucor circinelloides, Rhizopus stolonifer, and Penicillium chrysogenum to effect the biotransformation of 17β-hydroxyandrost-4-en-3-one, commonly known as testosterone ( 1 ).
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These transformations have been carried out by incubating 1 with fungal mycelia that are growing in nutrient media, as well as to a suspension, in water, of fungal cells immobilized in a calcium alginate matrix. The approach has been taken to investigate the transformations obtained when 1 is incubated with a single fungus, as well as with a mixture of two fungal strains in a single vessel. The latter has the potential of generating a library of new and interesting compounds.
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© The Author(s), 2023
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