Natural Products Research
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Overview: Using Nature's Pharmacy to Improve Lives
Medicines from natural sources are powerful tools for combating cancer and other diseases, having contributed 60% of today's anticancer and anti-infective drugs. The complex molecules in nature have evolved over millennia to provide robust, disease-fighting mechanisms.
We examine bioactive compounds in nature such as plants, bacteria, and fungi. We focus on anticancer, antifungal, antibacterial, and central nervous system drug discovery. In addition, we explore herbal supplements and their interactions with cancer and conventional cancer treatments.
Each year, we analyze more than 2,600 plants, fungi, and bacteria gathered from diverse sources and places across the globe. We are the only organization in the world that has discovered two major life-saving drugs from natural products: Taxol and camptothecin.
Research Programs
We provide a broad array of innovative services to pharmaceutical companies, natural product manufacturers, dietary supplement companies, the agrichemical industry, and government agencies. The combination of in-depth experience, commitment to regulatory compliance, and state-of-the-art equipment makes us a valuable resource for our clients to solve virtually any analytical problem or challenge.
Drug Discovery
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Identify lead compounds through isolation and characterization
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Study biochemical mechanisms of action in natural sources
Drug Design and Synthesis
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Extract, fractionate, and isolate pure constituents
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Provide spectroscopic data
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Fractionate extracts by chromatography, with appropriate adsorbents
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Purify extracts using high-performance liquid and centrifugal countercurrent chromatography
Pharmacology
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Characterize pure known or new constituents using mass spectrometry and spectroscopy, including ultraviolet, infrared, X-ray, and proton and carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy
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Perform assays for cytotoxicity, antifungal activity, cell cycle effects, and inhibition of topoisomerases I and II on crude extracts, fractions, and pure compounds
Herbal Drugs
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Perform quantitative and qualitative analyses of herbal drugs
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Develop new analytical procedures