Endotoxins (lipopolysaccharides, LPS) from gram negative bacteria are believed to cause many, if not most, of the symptoms associated with pulmonary dysfunction in textile mill workers. Endotoxins in cotton dust, lint, or bacterial preparations are destroyed by treatment with sodium hydroxide in alcohol. Sodium hydroxide treatment is also effective in eliminating the animal model pulmonary toxicity of cotton dust and Enterobacter agglomerans bacterial cells. Because cotton dust and bacterial cell preparations are mixtures, the previous studies did not prove that LPS destruction by sodium hydroxide is responsible for loss of pulmonary toxicity. In this study, LPS was isolated from Enterobacter agglomerans cells and purified. To evaluate possible detoxification methods, the purified LPS was treated with 1) sodium hydroxide in ethanol, 2) hydrochloric acid in ethanol, 3) ethanol (control), and 4) hydrochloric acid in ethanol followed by extraction with chloroform. Monosaccharides and fatty acids in whole and treated LPS samples were analyzed by capillary gas chromatography. Treated LPS samples were assayed for endotoxin by the Limulus amebocyte lysate procedure, using two-fold dilutions to estimate the endpoint.