In this study, Nocardia lactamdurans NRRL 3802 was explored for the first time for production of cephamycin C by using solid-state fermentation. The effects of various substrates, moisture content, inoculum size, initial pH of culture medium, additional nitrogen source and amino acids were investigated for the maximum production of cephamycin C by N. lactamdurans NRRL 3802 in solid-state fermentation. Subsequently, selected fermentation parameters were further optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). The soybean flour as a substrate with moisture content of 65%, initial pH of culture medium of 6.5 and inoculum size of 10(9) CFU/ml (2 x 10(8) CFU/gds) at 28 2 degrees C after 4 days gave maximum production of 15.75 +/- 0.27 mg/gds of cephamycin C as compared to 8.37 +/- 0.23 mg/gds before optimization. Effect of 1,3-diaminopropane on cephamycin C production was further studied, which further increased the yield to 27.64 +/- 0.33 mg/gds. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.