부피질호르몬의 제조의 중요한 전구체인 11alpha-hydroxyprogesterone을 Rhizopus nigricans를 이용하여 고농도의 progesterone으로부터 고수율로 생산하기 위한 연구를 수행하였다. 생물전환수율을 최대로 하는 배지조성은 포도당과 casamino acid의 비율이 2:1인 것으로 관찰되었다. Progesterone은 Tween 80 용액에 분산시켜서 종균배양 후 12 시간 정도 지나서 첨가하였을 때 전환수율이 높았다. Progesterone의 농도가 증가함에 따라 생산성이 증가하였고 Progesterone이 20g/$ell$일 경우 전환수율은 약 70정도 였다.
A study on 11 $alpha$-hydroxylation of progesterone by using Rhizopus nigricans was carried out to produce efficiently 11 $alpha$-hydroxyprogesterone which is an essential intermediate of corticosteroids synthesis. Firstly, medium was optimized in view of bioconversion yield and cell growth. Glucose and casamino acid were selected as carbon and nitrogen source and the ratio of carbon to nitrogen which maximize bioconversion yield was determined to be 2:1. Secondly, the addition time of progesterone and dispersion method were studied. When progesterone dispersed with 0.01% (v/v) Tween 80 was added at 12-14 hr of cultivation, higher bioconversion yield was obtained. When 20g/$ell$ of progesterone was added, the yield reached 70% under optimized conditions.
