ChemInform Abstract: Applications of Physical Factors in Steroid Bioconversion

Steroid microbial conversion system is a complex but controllable system with multiple factors involved. In the process of steroid microbial conversion, strain screening and selection is essential to improving productivity and reducing costs. However, good-quality strains need optimal environmental conditions to best play their roles. Therefore, environmental conditions can significantly affect the conversion rate in addition to the quality of the strains utilized. Microbial environment includes physiological and biochemical environment, physical and materialized environment and hydro-mechanical environment. For example, the composition, pH value and dissolved oxygen of culture medium affect the physiological and biochemical environment; gas-liquid interface and liquid-solid interface of culture media affect the physical and materialized environment; scattered and mixed conditions of culture system affect the hydro-mechanical environment. Representative physical factors and their applications in steroid microbial conversion system are briefly reviewed herein.