Solvent effect on enzymatic steroid transformation

As part of our endeavor to increase the productivity of steroid by enzymatic transformation of corticosteroids, attempts have been made to increase the solubility of steroids by using some organic solvents. When the solubility of steroids is the rate limiting factor in the steroid transformation, it was found that the use of solvents significantly improved the yield. Hydrocorisone as a substrate and 3-ketosteroid .DELTA.$^{1}$ dehydrogense as an immobilized whole cell enzyme were employed as the model system for this study. It was found that the yield of product, prodnisolone, goes through a maximum with an increase in the solvent concentration. At a high solvent concentration, the solvent showed a toxic effect and it causes a decrease in the product yield by the second order inhibition mechanism. Among the solvents evaluated, methanol and ethanol were found to be the best. These alcohols are not only good solvents but also showed minimal toxic effect. Based on the experimental results, it was concluded that the productivity of steroid can be increased by usign well selcted solvents systems for the enzymatic transformation of steroids.