XECHEM RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Searching Nature's Bounty for New Therapeutics
The Xechem Research Institute is dedicated to finding new drugs from Natural Sources. We screen Natural, Semi-synthetic and Synthetic compounds for therapeutic and biological activity. Natural Products Department
The Natural Products Department has the background, capabilities and state-of-the-art equipment necessary to extract and isolate valuable Natural Products based on bioassay-guided fractionations from a wide variety of Medicinal Plants, Marine And Microbial sources.
Large scale extraction tanks, rotary evaporators (20-L and 50-L) and chromatography equipment are available for extraction and purification of products on almost any scale.
Contract manufacturing and technology transfer services are available.
Technology Development
Xechem has Extensive Technological Experience in: Purification of Natural Products
Process development under current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) and current Good Laboratory Practices (cGLP)
Microbial fermentation
Plant cell culture
Regulatory assistance
Analytical testing
Bioprocessing Department
The Bioprocessing Department has expertise in strain improvement, media development and parameter optimization as well as a pilot plant to address scale-up issues.
The shaker room can handle over 700 shake flask fermentations from 50-mL to 2-L scale to identify initial conditions. Diverse client needs ranging from antibiotic fermentations and rDNA fermentations to primary metabolite and enzyme production can be quickly fulfilled by the availability of over 15 fermentors of various geometrical configurations ranging from 10-L to 70-L.
Process scale equipment is available for recovery and purification. State-of-the-art analytical instrumentation (HPLC, IR, GC, UV-VIS) is also available for in-process and finished product characterization. Culture preservation and maintenance is accomplished by utilization of large scale lyophilizers, ultracold storage freezers (-70?C) and liquid nitrogen facilities, each with its own dedicated resource backup.
U.S. Patent Number
Title of Patent
Date of Issue
#5,654,448 "Isolation and Purification of Paclitaxel from Organic Matter containing Paclitaxel, Cephalomannine and Other Related Taxanes" 1997
#5,840,748 "Dihalocephalomannine and Methods of Use Therefor" 1998
# 5,854,278 "Preparation of Chlorinated Paclitaxel Analogues and Their Use Thereof as Antitumor Agents" 1998
# 5,807,888 "Preparation of Brominated Paclitaxel Analogues and Their Use as Effective Antitumor Agents" 1998
# 5,840,930 "Method for Production of 2",3" Dihalocephalomannine" 1998
Add: Development of Vancomycin
Development of paclitaxel purification process, U. S. Patent #5,654,448 (1997).
Development of second generation paclitaxel analogs
Contract Research
Xechem offers a variety of Contract Research Services including: Fermentation
Custom synthesis and scale-up
Chemical analysis (HPLC, LC-MS, GPC, wet analysis etc)
Biological screening and testing
Formulation
Give the list of SBIR Grants awarded
Preapproval Master Agreements
Paragraph on Hexoid? Plate, EXIST?
Screening for Biological Activities
The Screening Process includes:
Field work with herbologists, Shamens, ethnobotanists, physicians, biologists and chemists
Biological screening and isolation of bioactive compounds and
In vitro microbial, antifungal, anticancer and antiviral and immunomodulators, followed by in vivo testing
The Screening Department has expertise in in vitro biological screening in the areas of bacteriology, mycology, protozoology, immunology, virology, and animal cell culture.
Xechem is well equipped with biological safety cabinets, microscopes, microplate readers, electronic liquid handling systems, water-jacketed CO2 incubators and advanced detection and automated handling systems.
Cell-based and mechanism-based bioassays are developed and quickly implemented into a High-Throughput Screening (HTS) program.
U.S. Patent Number
Title of Patent
Date of Issue
# 5,817,510 "Device and Method for Evaluating Microorganisms" 1998
# Des. 411,308 "Covered, Multi-Well Assay Plate" 1999