ReviewPLoS biology2018
Saving the horseshoe crab: A synthetic alternative to horseshoe crab blood for endotoxin detection.
Review in PLoS biology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed.
- Endotoxins and Biological Implications-Review.Public health challenges · 2026Review
- Characterization of the Complete Mitochondrial Genome ofAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Quality Control for Medical Devices: A Review of Detection Technologies, Regulatory Standards and Matrix Interference Solutions.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- RNA-seq data of healthy and fungal infectedData in brief · 2026Article
- Technologies for Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs: A Patent Landscape Analysis.Recent patents on biotechnology · 2026Article
- Detection of Microbial Contamination in Nanomaterials Using LAL, rFC and Cell-Based Assays: Implications for Nanotoxicological Hazard Assessment.Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Diversity and evolutionary history of RNA viruses among different horseshoe crab species.Journal of virology · 2025Article
- Optimal Horseshoe Crab Blood Collection Solution That Inhibits Cellular Exocytosis and Improves Production Yield of Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate for Use in Endotoxin Tests.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- A Study on the Application of Recombinant Factor C (rFC) Assay Using Biopharmaceuticals.Microorganisms · 2024Article
- Reconstitution of (1→3)-β-D-glucans measurement system using recombinant Limulus polyphemus Factor G.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2023Article
- Raman ConvMSANet: A High-Accuracy Neural Network for Raman Spectroscopy Blood and Semen Identification.ACS omega · 2023Article
- Microsatellite Loci of the Atlantic Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus) Reveal Inter-Localities Genetic Diversity in the Coastal Waters of the Eastern and Northern Yucatan Peninsula.Biochemical genetics · 2023Article
- Heterogeneity of Lipopolysaccharide as Source of Variability in Bioassays and LPS-Binding Proteins as Remedy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Sensitive detection of lipopolysaccharides by monitoring of interleukin-10 secretion from human PBMCs.microPublication biology · 2023Article
- Review
- Advancing the protection of marine life through genomics.PLoS biology · 2022Article
- Lipopolysaccharide detection by the innate immune system may be an uncommon defence strategy used in nature.Open biology · 2022Review
- Low endotoxinMolecular therapy. Methods & clinical development · 2021Article
- Review
- The Bioactive Potential of Trawl Discard: Case Study from a Crinoid Bed Off Blanes (North-Western Mediterranean).Marine drugs · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Horseshoe crabs have been integral to the safe production of vaccines and injectable medications for the past 40 years. The bleeding of live horseshoe crabs, a process that leaves thousands dead annually, is an ecologically unsustainable practice for all four species of horseshoe crab and the shorebirds that rely on their eggs as a primary food source during spring migration. Populations of both horseshoe crabs and shorebirds are in decline. This study confirms the efficacy of recombinant Factor C (rFC), a synthetic alternative that eliminates the need for animal products in endotoxin detection. Furthermore, our findings confirm that the biomedical industry can achieve a 90% reduction in the use of reagents derived from horseshoe crabs by using the synthetic alternative for the testing of water and other common materials used in the manufacturing process. This represents an extraordinary opportunity for the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries to significantly contribute to the conservation of horseshoe crabs and the birds that depend on them.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.