Horseshoe crab, a harmless and primitive sea creature, plays an important role in nature, that they could be the food for turtles and sharks as well as shorebirds. As functions of its blue blood were found, horseshoe crab also becomes a new life-saving tool.
In 1970s, scientists found that the blue blood of horseshoe crab would clot when they were exposed to E. coli bacteria. It is because the amebocyte in the blue blood of horseshoe crab could react with endotoxins, toxic substances released by E. coli and other gram-negative bacteria which could produce severe symptoms in exposed humans such as fever or hemorrhagic stroke.
Why the blue blood of horseshoe crab has such functions? It may be the results of evolution. The living environment of horseshoe crab is full of bacteria, and horseshoe crab faces the constant threat of infection. The amebocyte in the blue blood of horseshoe crab pay a key role in fighting off infection, that because of the amebocyte, its blue blood could immediately bind and clot around fungi, viruses and bacterial endotoxins. It is the immune system of horseshoe crab that actually make the horseshoe crab’s blood useful to our biomedical industry.
Due to its binding and clotting ability, blue blood of horseshoe crab is used to produce limulus amebocyte lysate, a kind of lyophilized amebocyte lysate. And products produced with the amebocyte from horseshoe crab under different methodologies are developed. At present, there are three technique used to detect bacterial endotoxin by employing lyophilized amebocyte lyate, i.e. gel-clot technique, turbidimetric technique and chromogenic technique. Xiamen Bioendo Technology Co., Ltd. manufacturers lyophilized amebocyte lysate with these three techniques.
Post time: Feb-28-2019
