Conjugation of capsular polysaccharide to alpha-haemolysin from Staphylococcus aureus as a glycoprotein antigen

The capsular polysaccharides of two pathogenic strains of Staphylococcus aureus 8914 and 31 were isolated and purified. These polysaccharides were conjugated to alpha-haemolysin prepared from the same strains. Amongst the various coupling procedures which were tested the best results were obtained with sodium cyanoborohydride and glutaraldehyde. The conjugates were purified and their immunologic properties were tested. They gave a positive response against antisera from whole bacterial cells.