Structural studies on some capsular antigens from escherichia coli and klebsiella

Abstract

A review of the structural studies of bacterial capsular polysaccharides (K-antigens) from Escherichia coli and Klebsiella, and of the trends in modern chemical and instrumental techniques available for the analysis of carbohydrate material is presented. The structural elucidations of the capsular polysaccharides from E. coli K37 and K55, and Klebsiella K39 are reported with comments on the novelty and possible immunological significance of the structures. The usefulness of the bacteriophage degradation technique has been emphasized using the polysaccharides from E. coli K55, and Klebsiella K30 and K39 to demonstrate the scope of the reaction