The Preparation of the Type-Specific Carbohydrates of Gonococci

Abstract

Summary: The observations, published in a preceding article, concerning skin reactions, with the polysaccharide fractions of type I and type II gonococci are supplemented, on the basis of new investigations, by a detailed account of the technic of the production of these substances and the difficulties encountered. With type I gonococcus the protein and carbohydrate are apparently precipitated at approximately the same level of acidity. By repeated alcohol precipitations the water-insoluble protein, accountable for non-specific skin reactions, was generally eliminated and a satisfactorily purified type-specific polysaccharide fraction obtained. Purification of type II was easier. A method based on tryptic digestion proved unsatisfactory.