The Detection Of Endotoxins Via The LAL Test, The Chromogenic Method

By Lisa Komski, M.T., ASCP Senior Manager, Export And LAL; Wako Chemicals USA

The detection of endotoxins via the LAL (LimulusAmebocyte Lysate) test is a technique that is used daily in research laboratories, above all in the laboratories where biological matters are researched, and particularly in biomedicine laboratories. This technique is also very common in the pharmaceutical industry, where it is used to check that medications do not contain endotoxins in their final formulation, and it is approved by most pharmacopoeias as the standard test of pyrogen control. It is also used in other types of industries that are susceptible to being contaminated by bacterial endotoxins. For instance, the test is of great use in the quality control of food and water. In the previous articles, we have already discussed the gelation and turbidimetric methods used in the LAL technique. In this article, we are going to be focusing on the chromogenic method as a form of quantifying the bacterial endotoxins that are present in the environment.