Taxol Glossary

Here are terms and acronyms used in this article that may not be familiar to many readers:

10-deacetylbaccatin III (10-DAB): This is the "heart" of the Taxol molecule. It is a large molecule itself found in abundance in the needles of the English yew. (10-dee-ah-SEE-tull-bah-COT-ten three)

analog: a spin-off, or derivative, compound

bioassay: a routine lab test to determine biological activity, conducted in cell cultures, live animals or both

Camptotheca acuminata: Latin name for the Chinese "happy tree" (camp-toe-THEE-ka ah-cue-mi-NA-ta)

camptothecin: cancer-fighting compound discovered by Monroe Wall, co-discoverer of Taxol (camp-toe-THEE-kin)

CRADA: Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, a mechanism for transferring development of a government-owned product to private enterprise

Cremophor EL: a commercial product used as a solvent for Taxol in cancer treatment

FDA: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration

metal alkoxide process: a key chemical technique developed by FSU scientists that made mass production of artificially made Taxol possible

microtubules: microscopic, tube-like structures manufactured by cells; crucial to cell-division and thus growth

NCI: The U.S. National Cancer Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health

NMR spectrometer: an instrument that uses the technique of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to analyze chemical composition of various substances

petri dish: a small glass or plastic dish with a cover used for growing bacteria or cell cultures in a laboratory

semisynthesis: the process of artificially making a compound in the lab by using part of the end product as the primary starting raw material

taxane: a class of chemicals whose molecular structure includes the primary constituents of Taxol

Taxus brevifolia: Latin name for the Pacific yew tree, the original source of Taxol (TAX-us breh-vi-FOL-ee-ah)

technology transfer: the process of transferring the discoveries of academic scientists and scholars to the marketplace

tubulin: the key protein building block of microtubules (see above)

USDA: The U.S. Department of Agriculture