Chemical Synthesis and Immunological Properties of Oligosaccharides Derived from the Vegetative Cell Wall of <i>Bacillus anthracis</i>

Abstract

Sweet relief: Sera from rabbits exposed to Bacillus anthracis Sterne 34F2 spores or immunized with B. anthracis polysaccharide conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin were found to contain antibodies that recognized isolated polysaccharide (shown) and two synthetic trisaccharides. This provides proof-of-concept towards the development of vegetative and spore-specific reagents for detection and targeting of nonprotein structures of B. anthracis.