Category Archives: Endotoxin Newsletter

The pyrogenicity and immunogenicity of endotoxin are closely related to their chemical structure. Differences in the lenghth and composition of the O-antigen and core oligosaccharide can have significant effects on their biological activity. The number and length of fatty acid … Continue reading →

As previously discussed in this newsletter, LAL is the gold standard for endotoxin detection. However, due to limitations, such as assay interference, alternative non-enzymatic alternatives are being investigated regularly. We recently highlighted an alternative test from China dependent on the … Continue reading →

The gold standard for endotoxin detection is the LAL assay. However, due to its enzymatic nature and the dependence on harvesting a wild species, an alternative method could prove to be valuable. Scientists in China and the US recently published … Continue reading →

The October issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology includes an excellent review article on the issues surrounding endotoxemia and in detecting endotoxin in biological fluids. As is often the topic with this newsletter, the author begins by noting the … Continue reading →

Low Endotoxin Recovery (LER) is the observation that, for many biological compounds, it is difficult to recover known endotoxin spikes. This has become the prevailing topic in the endotoxin field since the inability of LAL to detect endotoxin does not … Continue reading →

A link between depression and inflammation has been observed in many studies. Aberrant social behaviors, such as aggression, often present with depression and can be indicative of suicidal behavior. A recent study addressed the association between stress-associated behaviors, such as … Continue reading →

Endotoxin contamination in recombinant therapeutics is a widely discussed problem. A recent review highlights similar issues in the field of nanoparticles. Nanomaterials are commonly contaminated with endotoxin due to their highly reactive surfaces combined with the ability of endotoxin to … Continue reading →

A recent publication in the Journal of Immunological Methods revisits a common problem with endotoxin detection in biological solutions. Using the Endosafe PTS (Charles River Laboratories) and the Kinetic-QCL LAL Assay (Lonza) with serum samples, they found that neither were … Continue reading →

Over the past few years this newsletter has highlighted several publications indicating the importance of the detection and removal of even sub-clinical levels of endotoxin (e.g., 2013 PLoS One, 2014 JBC). A recent publication from the University of Salzburg further … Continue reading →

A recent study has demonstrated a link between bacterial exposure and the development of diabetes mellitus type 2 (DMII). This important work could lead to new treatments or even prevention through species-specific interventions. Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic bacteria that … Continue reading →