Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

A New Method for the Microbiological Oxidation of Steroids

Abstract

THE microbiological steroid transformations in the preparation of sex- and adrenocortical hormones opened a new field for the use of micro-organisms in organic synthesis. An interesting feature of these reactions is the ability to transform substances which are practically insoluble in water in an aqueous medium. It seems obvious that this transformation does not take place in the aqueous phase itself but on the lipoid surface of the micro-organisms. When the fermentation broth and the mycelial mass are treated separately after such transformations, the fermentation broth contains relatively more polar transformation product and less starting material, whereas considerable quantities of the initial steroids could be recovered from the mycelial mass.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Peterson, D. H., and Murray, H. C., U.S. Patent 2,602,769 (July 8, 1952).

  2. Albrecht, K., and Wix, Gy., Magyar Kémiai Folyóirat, 64, 237 (1958).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wix, G., ALBRECHT, K. A New Method for the Microbiological Oxidation of Steroids. Nature 183, 1279–1280 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/1831279a0

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1831279a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing