Structures of the Capsular Polysaccharides of Neisseria meningitidis as Determined by 13C-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Abstract

The application of ¹³C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to the structural determination of the capsular polysaccharide antigens of Neisseria meningitidis is described. Complete assignments of the spectra of the polysaccharides of serogroups A, B, C, W-135, X, and Y were made and were based mainly on previous assignments made for the monomer units of the respective polysaccharides. This technique provides information on all structural aspects of the polysaccharides including composition, mode of linkage, location of O-acetyl substituents, seque{lce, and conformation. In addition, nuclear magnetic resonance is nondestructive, extremely rapid, and has enormous potential in bacteriological research.