PROFILING TAXANES IN TAXUS EXTRACTS USING LC MS AND LC/MS/MS TECHNIQUES/

Analytical methodology developed for the trace analysis of natural pro ducts in crude extracts was utilized for the rapid and systematic stru cture elucidation of taxanes in Taxus extracts and process intermediat es. This method integrates analytical hplc, uv detection, uv spectrosc opy, full-scan ionspray mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry on-line. The identification of structure of a taxane is based on comp aring the mass spectrometric characteristics of the taxane with the pa clitaxel substructural ''template.'' Analytical data for taxanes in pr eparations from Taxus brevifolia and Taxus baccata were observed, incl uding chromatographic characteristics using a standard hplc system, mo lecular weight, and collision induced dissociation (cid) tandem mass s pectrometry (ms/ms) product ion spectra. The data obtained for 18 taxa nes from natural sources using this method provided a taxane profile d atabase useful for the rapid identification of taxanes in mixtures and samples of limited quantity.