Paclitaxel was purified from cell cultures of Taxus chinensis by a combination of extraction, low-pressure chromatography, precipitation and HPLC. A crude extract (purity 6.9%) was obtained by methanol extraction of plant cell cultures, followed by liquid-liquid extraction using dichloromethane. The extract was purified to greater than 32% with a 97% step yield by low-pressure chromatography. After acetone/pentane precipitation, the resulting purity and step yield were 75.8% and 97.4%, respectively. High performance liquid chromatography steps, which were composed of an HPLC step with column-packed ODS and an HPLC step with column-packed silica, were applied to give over 99.5% purity with high yield. Amorphous paclitaxel with a fine particle size, which has a solubility advantage compared with the stable crystalline form, was obtained by dissolving in dichloromethane, followed by spray-drying. (C) 2004 Society of Chemical Industry.