Bacterial endotoxin test (revision 1)
Old revision·22:34, 27 Aug 2024·SarcopeniaSefa
| Bacterial endotoxin test | |
|---|---|
| Also called | LAL test, BET |
| Detects | Lipopolysaccharide from Gram-negative bacterial cell walls |
| Compendial chapter | USP General Chapter 85 |
| Units | Endotoxin units per mg or per mL (EU) |
| Analytical method infobox · conventions | |
The bacterial endotoxin test detects lipopolysaccharide, a component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria that provokes a febrile response when introduced parenterally. The test exploits a clotting cascade in amoebocyte lysate derived from horseshoe crab blood, which is activated by picogram quantities of endotoxin.[1]
Endotoxin is not a living organism and is not removed by sterilisation. A preparation can be sterile and pyrogenic at the same time: autoclaving kills bacteria but leaves their lipopolysaccharide intact and biologically active. Endotoxin is the commonest but not the only pyrogen, and a separate rabbit pyrogen test exists for the wider class.[2] This is why endotoxin and sterility are separate determinations answering separate questions.[1]