Scale-Up of Phytosterols Bioconversion into Androstenedione

Phytosterols, coming as a by-product of vegetable oils or wood pulp, contain the cyclopentanoperhydrophenanthrene nucleus and can be bioconverted into steroid intermediates by removing the C17 side chain. This chapter shows the scale-up, from flask to bioreactor, of phytosterols bioconversion into 4-androstene-3,17-dione (androstenedione; AD) using Mycolicibacterium neoaurum B-3805. Due to the fact that phytosterols and AD are nearly insoluble in water, two-phase systems and the use of chemically modified cyclodextrins have been described as methods to solve it. Here, we use a water-oil two-phase system that allows the bioconversion of up to 20 g/L of phytosterols into AD in 5 L and 20 L bioreactors.