Sterile Vs. Pyrogen-Free: Why You Need To Know The Difference

Sterile vs. pyrogen-free – it's important to your work and you need to know the difference. First of all, what is a pyrogen? Simply, a pyrogen is any substance that causes a fever. The most commonly thought of pyrogens are bacterial endotoxins and exotoxins, although the host body (human or animal) can also produce pyrogens. The most commonly assayed for pyrogen is lipopolysaccharide, or LPS. It is a component of the bacterial wall of Gram-negative bacteria and is released upon breakdown of the cell wall or bacterial cell lysis.