Improved fractional precipitation method for purification of paclitaxel

This study investigated changing the methanol/water ratio during fractional precipitation of paclitaxel, and adding all the distilled water at room temperature, followed mixing for an additional 10 min. When the methanol/water ratio was 50:50, 40:60, and 30:70 (v/v), the paclitaxel yield was 42.0%, 84.3%, and 92.0%, respectively. When using a methanol/water ratio of 50:50 (v/v), a similar high purity and yield of paclitaxel to the case of storing at a low temperature was achieved when adding all the distilled water at room temperature, followed by additional mixing for 10 min and further mixing at room temperature during fractional precipitation. Thus, additional mixing after adding all the distilled water is confirmed as important during fractional precipitation. Furthermore, the present results show that a high yield of high-purity paclitaxel is possible with additional mixing at room temperature after adding all the distilled water, which is significantly more economical than the existing method of storing at a low temperature for a long time after adding all the distilled water during fractional precipitation. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.