taxol
Noun
Meaning
Taxol
(pharmacology) Taxol, paclitaxel: a drug (a mitotic inhibitor) used to kill dividing tumour cells.
taxol (plural taxols)
(chemistry, pharmacology) A taxane, C47H51NO14, used to treat cancer; Taxol.
Examples
The drugs that can alter microtubule dynamics include: * The cancer-fighting taxane class of drugs ( paclitaxel (taxol) and docetaxel ) block dynamic instability by stabilizing GDP-bound tubulin in the microtubule.
In 1978, two NCI researchers published a report showing taxol was mildly effective in leukaemic mice.
In 1990, BMS applied to trademark the name taxol as Taxol(R).
But by then it was recognized that the demand for taxol might be substantial and that more than 60,000 pounds of bark might be needed as a minimum.
By virtue of its structure, 10-deacetylbaccatin was seen as a viable starting material for a short semisynthesis to produce taxol.
While both the size of the wild population of Taxus brevifola and the magnitude of the eventual demand for taxol were uncertain, it was clear for many years that an alternative, sustainable source of supply of the natural product would be needed.