Based on test type, the market has been segmented into MAT test,
LAL test, rabbit pyrogen test, and others.
The limulus amoebocyte lysate test (
LAL test) is a quantitative test for Gram-negative bacterial endotoxin.
Aggregates are thought to be the form detected by the
LAL test as they are far more potent than monomers for activating Factor C, the first enzyme within the LAL enzymatic cascade.
Cooper's research demonstrated that the
LAL test was more sensitive than the rabbit pyrogenic test.
We have, therefore, performed two tests to check for the presence of endotoxins in HM: the
LAL test and the Fluorogenic one (Lonza Verviers SPRL) for which we obtained two contradictory results.
The
LAL test is easy to perform and relatively inexpensive.
The
LAL test, based on coagulation of blood from the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), detects only one class of pyrogen endotoxins from gram-negative bacteria leaving patients at risk from "non-endotoxin" pyrogens such as gram-positive toxins, viruses and fungi.
The
LAL test used to detect endotoxins in humans is derived from the blue, copper-based blood of the horseshoe crab.
For example, numerous published studies of body fluids as diverse as bronchoalveolar lavage,[1] cerebrospinal fluid,[2] and urine[3] have found that endotoxin detection with the
LAL test can be used as a reliable marker of gram-negative infection.[4]
The advantage of the MAT is even more pronounced in comparison to the
LAL test which only identifies endotoxins and is subject to false positive reactions to glucans [8].
Our rapid
LAL test system provides a real time endotoxin monitoring solution.
