Appearance: Paclitaxel typically appears as a white or off-white crystalline powder, odorless and tasteless.
Melting Point: Approximately 213~216°C.
Solubility: It has high solubility in common organic solvents such as methanol, ethanol, dimethyl sulfoxide, and dichloromethane. However, it has low solubility in water.
Chemical Characteristics
Structure: Paclitaxel is a compound with a complex structure, containing four rings and a side chain. Its core skeleton is a fifteen-membered ring (taxane ring), composed of four terpene skeletons. On the fifteen-membered ring, there is a three-carbon side chain, with one carbon atom connected to a benzene ring.
Chirality: Paclitaxel is a chiral mixture, with two enantiomers (R- and S-), where the R-enantiomer is the main form with pharmacological activity.
Stability: It is relatively unstable under light, oxygen, and acidic conditions, prone to degradation. Therefore, care should be taken during preparation, storage, and use.
Pharmacological Effects
Antitumor Activity: Paclitaxel inhibits the normal assembly and function of microtubules, thereby inhibiting the mitosis and proliferation of tumor cells. It is used to treat various types of cancer, including ovarian cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer (including non-small cell lung cancer), and gastrointestinal cancer.
Mechanism of Action: Paclitaxel promotes tubulin polymerization, inhibits depolymerization, and maintains tubulin stability, thereby inhibiting cell mitosis and arresting cells in the G2 and M phases.
