Pregnan-3,20-Dione, also known in the lab as progesterone, carries real weight in both industrial and healthcare circles. Spot its alternative names on material data sheets or in chemical catalogs: Progesterone, Corpus luteum hormone, or by CAS Number 57-83-0. Its role as a chemical raw material stretches beyond pharmaceuticals, touching food technology, cosmetics, and even agriculture. The molecular formula, C21H30O2, captures all the carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms that fuse into a compact, impactful molecule. A melting point of 128-132°C means it sits solid in most lab and warehouse settings, changing forms only with a hefty dose of heat compared to many other hormone derivatives. As for appearance, it comes as odorless white to creamy-yellow powder, though flakes and small pearls turn up too, depending on production routes.
Take a glance at its true shape: Pregnan-3,20-Dione packs a tetracyclic skeleton, three rings bonded to a fourth, which sets it apart among steroids. Raise up a vial to light—pure samples show crystal-clear quality, a mark of careful synthesis and processing. Specific density floats around 1.17 g/mL at room temperature, so it settles neatly in a measuring tube, neither floating nor sinking fast. The molecular weight clocks in at 314.47 g/mol. Solubility speaks to where you’ll use it: practically insoluble in water, yet ready to dissolve in acetone, ethanol, chloroform, and other organic solvents. Look for flake or powder form in most pharmaceutical plants, though a few vendors offer a finer crystalline grade for analytical testing.
Every warehouse manager and lab tech needs straight facts for handling. Pregnan-3,20-Dione falls under the HS Code 2937290090 for customs classification, flagging it as a steroid hormone product. Chemical suppliers often pack it in light-resistant bottles or double-layered drums to cut risk of UV degradation—the molecule breaks down under strong sunlight. Store it in a cool, dry space, because ambient humidity can let lumps form, and moisture erodes quality over time. Pregnan-3,20-Dione itself isn’t an explosive risk or an obvious corrosive, but it’s not as innocent as common salt or sugar, either. Breathing in dust might cause throat or lung irritation, especially for workers handling bulk consignments. Proper personal protective equipment, like gloves and a fitted mask, makes a real difference.
Pregnan-3,20-Dione’s hazard stems straight from its biological activity. The hormone is a chemical messenger, prompting real shifts in cell function even at low doses. While lab chemists and pharmaceutical teams rely on its hormone-like power, accidental exposure or mishandling raises safety questions. Prolonged exposure—skin contact, inhalation, even accidental ingestion—may mess with hormone levels in factory workers, especially anyone not wearing gloves consistently or ignoring basic hygiene after handling. Unlike lead or benzene, immediate danger at the industrial scale stays low, still, chronic health risks must shuffle up the priority list for plant managers.
Most commercial batches go into raw material streams for hormone therapies, where exact dosage and form control matter more than anything. Some fertility clinics need highly purified lots for injectable progesterone. Beauty companies experiment with it to mimic hormonal effects in skin, though strict rules limit concentration and form. Companies often wrestle with batch purity, cross-contamination, and environmental fate—traces in wastewater hint at a bigger question: What happens after disposal, or if residue slips into rivers? Factories can invest in on-site containment and advanced filtration to cut waterway release. Value comes not only from Pregnan-3,20-Dione’s molecule itself, but in how responsibly workers, producers, and end-users handle and dispose of it.
Core raw materials often start with plant sources or semi-synthetic analogs, followed by multi-step reactions and careful purification. I’ve watched smaller labs outsource early synthetic steps to keep batch-to-batch consistency, especially for hormone-based APIs. Trace-level impurities derail medicine quality, so it fits that only GMP-compliant sources make the grade for export or clinical use. Inspection labs test each consignment for solid content, purity above 99%, color, odor, and absence of explosive peroxides. Each small lot—powder, pearl, crystal—delivers similar hormone content, regardless of external appearance, as long as those lab numbers match standards. Buyers and importers check not just the HS Code and paperwork, but a real, physical sample before signing off on delivery.
Pregnan-3,20-Dione may stand out on technical sheets for purity and density, but its real value comes back to how it gets handled, tested, and used across dozens of industries. Every bottle in a pharmacy, drum in a factory, or vial in a lab needs sharp eyes and steady hands, both for human safety and for the final use—be that medicine, analysis, or industrial formulation. Real improvements start with rigorous training, clear rules, and a basic respect for chemical power, from first delivery to final endpoint.
