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Letters to the editor Comparing endotoxin testing methods As thoroughly covered in your recent article (C&EN, Oct. 28, 2024, page 26), the issue of replacing the traditional natural product test for endotoxin, limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL), with a synthetic alternative is extremely complex. Leaving aside regulatory politics and the large volume of public misinformation regarding both the chemical differences between LAL and synthetic alternatives as well as the threats to the horseshoe crab, there are additional reasons for the slow adoption of a synthetic alternative. Although recent data indicate that more horseshoe crabs were collected for bait than LAL manufacture , bait’s 100% mortality still makes it the greatest threat to horseshoe crabs. In contrast, LAL’s upper mortality estimate is 30%. Conservation efforts continue to benefit the horseshoe crab, and in my state of Massachusetts, populations remain stable if not slightly increasing . Economics also plays a large role. Horseshoe